Solar Sea
by NailPolishRemover
Summary: After Sasuke is rescued by a group of sailors, he soon finds himself a pawn amidst a fierce battle between two enemy crews. NaruSasu
1. Saviour

**Warning:** This story is a product of shower musings. I wrote most of it in the wee hours of the morning, and it has not been beta'd. If you find any significant mistakes, please let me know. **Contains:** AU; M/M relationship; some OOC; incessant swearing; alcohol; gambling; violence; sexual themes; mentions of rape; pedophilia; and death.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Characters © Kishimoto

Enjoy. :)

**Chapter One - Saviour**

The rain was heavy. It had been for days now. The cobblestone roads of port town Trueno were being overflowed with water. Everywhere people were running from building to building, trying to keep as dry as possible on their way to their various destinations.

It was dark; an endless night. During the day the clouds had blocked out any sunlight the town would have gotten, and at night the sheets of rain had obstructed any light the streetlamps gave off. The summer air was plagued by a permanent chilly mist.

Carriages were rarely seen on the streets as of late. All the horses were locked inside their stables so that they would stay warm, dry and healthy, and the carriage wheels hadn't the strength to push through the ever-deepening rain puddles.

Sasuke was fed up. Not only was it pouring, but he was out of tea. Whoever said that money couldn't buy happiness was off their rocker. Too bad he was down to his last few coins.

For the last six years Sasuke had been forced to live off of the little bit of money his parents had kept in their bedroom safe. The rest of it had been stolen shortly after word spread of the wealthy family's deaths. The money and all their possessions, their house and everything Sasuke had ever known had disappeared in the duration of just one night. A dark, stormy night. Just like this one.

Sasuke hated rain. With a fiery passion, he did. Until the rain put it out. Then he was just depressed. And homeless.

Or so he would have been, if it weren't for his best and only friend, Sakura. She had let him live in the cellar of her parents' pub ever since the death of his family. Over all this time, they still hadn't found out about him. How, he wasn't quite sure, but he was thankful; he wasn't sure how they would react, and he didn't want to find out, either. They had never approved of his friendship with their daughter.

They thought he had murdered his family, after all. Apparently all ten year olds that were spared of a brutal slaughter became the culprit. Right, like he could even remember that night. All he could recall was the piercing screaming and the rivers of fresh blood, running into the kitchen and hiding under the stone basin. Trying to breathe. Waiting, and praying.

Brushing aside the morbid thoughts about his dead family and his pathetic life, he counted out the coins in his hand. He sighed at the knowledge of going hungry this week before leaving the safety of the warm, dry basement in hopes of finding some cheap tea. Maybe a store was holding some on the brink of expiry, and due to customer rarity lately they would have it on sale. Tea expired, right?

Coming up through the cellar door and into the cool rain, Sasuke immediately felt a chill. He was wearing nothing but an old dress shirt of Sakura's fathers, shoes he found in the trash and the trousers Sakura had stolen from her cousin. Beggars were not tolerated in the wealthy town he had grown up in, leaving him with limited access to clothing and since he couldn't afford a cloak to keep him warm, he was soon shivering.

He wandered through the downpour for a while, searching for a store. Not a single being crossed his path. He was soaked through to the bone within minutes, and the shivering had turned into a trembling of his entire body. Fuck the rain. And the cold. And life. Fuck.

He had no idea where he was going. There was a store around here somewhere; he was sure of it. Where was it?

Pressing his fingers against his temples, he tried to calm himself and think. He just needed to find shelter. But where was that?

Somehow Sasuke had wandered down to the harbour, where there were no surrounding buildings to block out the now raging wind and rain. He was disoriented and began regretting going out for lousy tea. He kicked himself for not thinking to bring the lamp with him, but then he remembered that he had no matches to light it with anyway. He was getting dizzy. The shivering had stopped, but he could barely feel his body anymore. His vision was impaired, and the only sounds now were the sloshing of water and the blood pounding in his head.

His legs gave out and his head found the hard, sodden gravel.

He passed out.

---

"…better not. Boy's worth quite a bit to us."

"I'll bet. Look at that face. Fetch a pretty penny, that will."

"Exactly. Cap'n only took him in…"

Warmth…

---

Sasuke awoke to rocking and the sounds of sloshing water. _Shit, is it still raining out?_ He turned over a bit, his eyes still closed. _I hope not, or I'll get lost again and- Wait. Where am I?_

He pealed one of his eyes open and glanced around. He was in what looked like a small cabin. The walls were wooden, as was the floor, which was covered by a large, burgundy rug. The windows were large and rectangular, with thin wooden boards separating them into several smaller squares. Long, burgundy curtains were pushed to the sides, giving Sasuke a view of endless blue and the rays of the early morning sun. Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, giving the room a cosy feel despite the circumstances.

A mahogany desk sat in the corner of the room, opposite the bed he was in, and on it was a whole disarray of objects. A large map was in the centre; a compass and kerosene lamp perched on top. An ink bottle sat on several leafs of paper beside it, and surrounding these were numerous books. A broken quill lay on the floor beside the large, matching mahogany chair.

Beside the desk was a door, leading to what Sasuke was sure was certain doom.

Going to sit up he noticed something solid and heavy draped over his legs. Puzzled, he turned to his right.

"Shit! What the hell?!" He jumped back, scooting to the wall farthest from the thing in the bed; the thing being a boy with a blond mop of hair who was obviously a very messy sleeper. Also not one for clothing, apparently. He was wearing nothing but a pair of short, brown trousers, showing off well-toned, sun-kissed body.

"Whad'ya wan… huh? 'M sleepin'," he mumbled quietly into his pillow.

"Fuck! Who _are_ you?!" Sasuke gasped.

The blond in the bed beside him slowly lifted his head up to look at him, eyes drooping and drool running out the corner of his mouth. For several seconds they just stared at eachother; the stranger's bright blue, dazed and pondering eyes boring into Sasuke's own slightly frightened and very confused black ones.

"Oh, you're awake! It's about time. We were getting kinda worried." The dazed eyes were gone, replaced by enthusiasm.

"We?" was all Sasuke could choke out.

"Oh, yeah, right. You've been dead, or whatever. Let's start with: I'm Naruto, pleased to meet ya." He held out one tanned hand, quickly wiping up the drool with the other. When Sasuke failed to take it, the hand dropped to the bed and a frown formed on the boy's scarred face. "I can imagine you're pretty confused right now but-"

"You think?"

"But I can get someone to explain everything to you in a jiffy. So just hold on. Stay here."

"Do you really think I'm going anywhere?" he said, mustering as much sarcasm possible.

The boy scowled, and muttered a quick, "bastard," before he got up and exited the room, leaving Sasuke to himself.

Sasuke stared at the door, taking everything in. _What did he mean, 'dead'? Where am I and who is that idiot? Why is this room rocking? What the _hell_ am I wearing? _For he was wearing nothing but a long white gown that looked oddly like women's clothing. The fact that he was changed while unconscious was pushed to the nether regions of his mind.

Stumbling to his feet, Sasuke made his way over to a tall mirror on the wall. His black hair was matted and sticking to his face with sweat. His onyx eyes were dull and bordered by thick purple marks. He was thinner; boney. And his skin was even more pale than usual, adding the finishing touches to his 'dead' look.

He continued to examine himself for several more moments before the door opened again, revealing a short, mean-looking redhead and two blonds.

The redhead, who's hair was dark as blood, had a tattoo on his eyebrow-less forehead. His eyes were a bright turquoise and were framed by a thick black substance. He was wearing a red suit, embroidered with golden-coloured thread and heavy black boots. Sasuke could tell that he was important.

The one blond was the boy from before, Naruto. He smiled at Sasuke when he entered. The other was a woman, who was garbed in anything but a frilly dress; her clothing matched that of the red-head, but was blue with silver embroidering. Her hair was done up in clover-like manner, with two poufs of hair on the top of her head, and two at the bottom, and was much less shiny than Naruto's. She, like the red-head, looked a bit cruel, wearing a mixed expression of boredom and malice.

The redhead looked him up and down for a good minute or two before taking a seat on the mahogany chair behind the desk. "Sit," he ordered, pointing to one of several other (quite smaller) chairs in the room. Sasuke swallowed and obeyed.

The room was quiet once again. The woman pulled up a chair beside the red-head and Naruto pulled up a chair on the other side. Sasuke faced the three, wondering how much longer he had to live.

"Uchiha, is it? Sasuke?" the redhead said, startling Sasuke with both the knowledge of his name as well as the politeness in his voice.

He gulped before answering, "Yeah."

"Good." The redhead revealed a smile. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Uchiha."

"Aboard? Aboard what?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Why, The Shuriken, of course. The ship." The man was still smiling, almost laughing.

"Ship? As in boat?" He gulped again. Sasuke didn't fare well with boats. He disliked the ocean, and avoided it at all cost, since he lacked even basic swimming skills.

"Yes; and welcome. I hope you've been quite at home here. It's… one of our finer rooms."

"I've, uh, only been awake for a few minutes," he informed, taking another glance around.

"As I have heard. And you're quite lucky to be awake at all. But before we go into all that, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gaara, Captain of The Shuriken. This," he indicated the blonde woman, "is my older sister, Lieutenant Temari." She lifted her hand and muttered a quick, "Yo," in greeting.

Gaara then indicated the other blond. "This is Naruto, which I'm sure he already let you know." The blond grinned and nodded.

Sasuke sighed. _Idiot._

The blond frowned suddenly. "Yeah, we already met, but the bastard wouldn't-"

He was cut off by a sharp knock at the door.

"Enter," was heard from the captain, and a man with long, dark hair entered. The front stands were in long, beaded braids and he was wearing a black bandana over his forehead. His clothing was mostly white, and his eyes were of a similar tone; a piercing white that looked almost blind. The way the man was looking around, however, told Sasuke that he could see just as well as the next guy, if not better.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Shikamaru informed me that the Uchiha was awake. I came to check his health," he said formally.

"What's wrong with my health?" Sasuke asked warily. They kept saying weird things like that.

"Mr. Uchiha." The newcomer looked in his direction, and Sasuke shrunk under the scrutinizing eyes. The man then nodded his head in greeting. "I'm Neji. If I could just..."

Once the short procedure was finished, and his temperature taken, Sasuke lowered the nightgown he'd been wearing, notably embarrassed. Naruto, Gaara and Temari re-entered a moment later, having left the room to give him privacy.

"Someone want to explain to me what's going on now?" He couldn't help but feel intimidated by these people, and it was heard in his voice.

The long-haired doctor spoke. "To be blunt, you nearly passed. When Kiba and Akamaru found you, your heart had slowed down to the point of stopping; you had hypothermia. We brought you on board and treated you to the best of our ability, taking turns to share our body heat with you to keep you alive. I will not ask why you were out in the storm so carelessly, but I will ask you not to be so foolish again, unless you wish to die." Neji paused, and noticed the quick glance Sasuke threw Naruto. He raised a brow and continued. "I know that Naruto can be a bit… overwhelming at times, but I hope you'll show some gratitude toward him; he's stayed with you since we brought you on board."

The idiot smiled and nodded.

Sasuke swallowed. "How- how long has it been? Since you found me?"

"About three days," Temari answered in a curt voice. "You should be grateful."

He nodded slowly but said nothing.

"There's no need to thank us," the Captain said, glancing at his sister. "But do thank the crew later. They are the reason you're still alive."

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He was torn between extremely thankful and extremely freaked. He had been lying there for three days, passed out and completely vulnerable to these people? This was not something he could easily deal with…

The rocking of the ship got momentarily stronger as they hit a large wave. His stomach jumped and he felt suddenly nauseas.

Then he hurled all over the burgundy rug.

TBC


	2. Loquacious

Yay, update! Big thanks to those who reviewed! Feedback is always greatly appreciated. :D

I own nothing. Enjoy. :)

**Chapter Two - Loquacious**

"Ready to meet the crew, Sasuke?" Naruto asked excitedly, quickly throwing some loose clothing into an old trunk before slamming the lid.

He groaned. The blond was giving him a headache. All afternoon he had been jumping around the room, giving Sasuke tips on what to wear, as Gaara had supplied him with a wardrobe worth of clothing. He had failed in allowing even a minute to go by in silence. He told Sasuke all about the different members of the crew, about all the best food that was served on board, and the whole while he was throwing in short comments about Sasuke's hair, eyes, skin, hell, even his teeth. And he _never went away_.

Apparently the blond had been put in charge of keeping an eye out on him. Why it couldn't have been someone, _anyone_, but this… _talkative dobe_ was beyond him.

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. He felt the need to throw up again. His stomach had been swirling sporadically since that morning.

"Great!" Sasuke followed Naruto out the door, finished changing and now garbed in a newly chosen outfit. He had thrown on a loose white shirt, a tan vest and a pair of matching tan trousers, as well as calve-high black boots and a black belt. He had also been given a brown hat, but chose not to wear it. He noticed that he hadn't gotten any rings or necklaces like what Naruto was sporting, but reasoned that he probably wouldn't have worn them anyway.

Sasuke had to blink his eyes several times to adjust to the sunlight he hadn't seen in what felt like months. He also raised his arm above his eyes for extra protection as Naruto led him across the brightly-lit deck of the ship. He hadn't really thought about how big the ship would be, but he saw now that it was quite large, though much smaller than most others that he had seen.

All hopes for escape were lost when he saw that they were surrounded by nothing but deep blue; not a single bit of land in sight. _Where are we?_ They must have been sailing since they picked him up. He sighed and looked up.

The first thing that Sasuke's eyes were drawn to was the huge flag, fastened securely to the main mast. It was making a loud flapping sound against the breeze. The flag itself was a dark red and on it was what looked like a weird, black star with four sharp points and a hole in the middle.

Up some stairs, just above the room they had come out of, was the wheel of ship. "The quarterdeck," Naruto said once they reached the top, stretching his arms out on either side of himself for emphasis. Behind the wheel was a tall brunet man. "The pilot." He was wearing a large, brown hat to keep the late-day sun out of his eyes and a purple substance, possibly the same as what Gaara had around his eyes, was smeared in lines across his face. Naruto introduced him as Kankuro, Gaara's older brother. He smiled and nodded, but said that he needed to focus. Temari was with him, examining a compass and scroll, occasionally glancing up at them but saying nothing.

On the main deck were four more men. Neji was standing at the rail with a man who was wearing dark glasses, a large coat and a cloth over his mouth. They were conversing about ropes, or _shrouds_, or something. Sasuke didn't really understand. The other man's name was Shino and he spoke calmly and quietly for someone who looked so daunting.

Standing by the hatch to the lower levels was another brunet, shorter than Kankuro, but also sporting weird facial substance, though in the form of two small orange triangles. A huge white dog sat beside him, wagging his tail. Naruto introduced them as Kiba and Akamaru, the two that found him in the storm. Sasuke quickly thanked them, not wanting to stick around too long; the dog had teeth that were quite large and frightening, and the man seemed to have fang-like teeth himself, not to mention he was just as loud as Naruto and even more obnoxious.

The final man on deck was noticeably older than the rest. He was sitting in the corner with his nose stuck in a book. When Naruto and Sasuke approached he glanced up momentarily before looking back at the page without saying a word. He had a shock of white hair atop of a one-eyed face. His left eye was covered by a large, navy eye-patch, and his mouth and nose were also covered up with navy cloth, Sasuke assumed to hide old battle scars.

"Kakashi, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, Kakashi," Naruto said, already seemingly annoyed with the older man.

The man, Kakashi, closed his book and stared blank-faced at Sasuke for a few agonizingly tense moments before smirking (as far as Sasuke could tell) and holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke." There was a strange emphasis put on his name, and Sasuke frowned before taking the hand.

"Uh, yeah."

"Yeah." Naruto was scowling and glaring at Kakashi. "Let's go now, Sasuke. Still people to meet before the day's done."

Next they went through a trap door, near what Naruto called the "forecastle deck" at the front of the ship. The door opened up into a staircase, or "companionway." They descended into a long hallway, along which were several doors. Lamps were hanging in each of the corners to light the windowless passage, casting eerie shadows across the dirty wooden walls. "These are the men's cabins," Naruto explained. "We're lucky; most vessels are in worse condition than this one." Sasuke nodded, failing to mention that it was much nicer than the conditions he was used to.

After walking about half way down the short hall, Naruto paused in front of a door and entered without knocking. "Lee," he acknowledged to whoever was inside before waltzing in and settling down. Sasuke followed him.

The room was cozy, with two small beds, a small table with a minute kerosene lamp on top, and strewn about clothing, books and other items on the floor. There were drawers built into the bottom of the beds and a small trunk at the foot of each for extra storage as well.

"Sasuke, this is Lee. He's our head boatswain. Err, he tells us what to do to keep the ship running properly. And some other stuff." He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, Lee, this is Sasuke. Our, err, guest."

"How's it going?" Lee asked, smiling widely and holding up his thumb. Sasuke was nearly blinded from a bright shininess, and as if those odd teeth weren't enough, Lee was wearing nothing but green clothing, tight-fitting in areas that made him turn away, uncomfortable. The man's hair was black and glossy, in a bowl-cut style, and his eyes were large, round, topped by a fat brow and framed with thick lashes.

"Okay," he answered, although it wasn't completely true. His raging stomach was making him feel more discomforted by the minute. "How many people sleep in these rooms?" he asked, more to distract his stomach than anything else, since he already knew the answer from the number of bunks.

"Two people per cabin," Lee answered anyway. "I know it doesn't seem like much space, but both are rarely in the room at the same time. There's lots of work to do, after all."

"Hmm."

"I share a room with Neji, the doctor," Lee said. "I heard you met him."

"Hn." He felt his face flush as he remembered their encounter.

Naruto looked around for a few silent moments before getting bored. "Okay, let's go." He jumped up and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, pulling him from the room. "See ya later, Fuzzy."

They crossed the hall and immediately entered another room, where Naruto introduced him to another shipmate.

He had short black hair and skin even paler than Sasuke's, and when they entered, he was hunched over on the floor, working on a painting. When Naruto introduced them, Sai's face transformed into an eerie smirk and he extended a hand upwards for Sasuke to take. "Our new Cabin Boy?" he asked. Sasuke didn't know what he meant, but Naruto frowned, kicked Sai and stormed out without a word, pulling Sasuke behind him before he could finish the handshake.

At the very end of the hall was one last door, wider and more ornate than the others. It led to a large room with a long, rectangular table in the centre and tall windows around the perimeter showing off the endless ocean beyond.

Along the lengths of the table were long wooden benches, and at the head was a wooden chair. Sasuke counted thirteen plates around the table, and one on the floor. Along the top width of the room was a smaller, partially-detached room, surrounded by a cupboard about bust high, but otherwise visible. From its contents, Sasuke guessed it was a kitchen.

"Looks like Chouji is getting ready for supper," Naruto grinned, patting his belly.

"Chouji?" Sasuke inquired.

"That's me! Hey, hey, you're awake!" A large, burly man with a wild mess of orange hair had just come into view from a more closed off part of the kitchen. He then walked through the low swinging door near the head of the table, wearing an apron and carrying a sizeable pot, which he set down in the middle of the table. He wiped his hands on his apron and shook Sasuke's. "Pleased to see you're alright. Tough time you've had, eh?"

"Yeah, thanks," the brunet replied softly.

Naruto plopped into the nearest seat and looked into the pot, licking his lips. "So, when're we eating? I'm starved."

"Soon, I would say. But not near soon enough to be waiting 'round here." Naruto nodded in understanding and stood. "See ya later, Sasuke," Chouji said before disappearing into the kitchen once again. Sasuke nodded before following Naruto out the door and back up to the deck.

"That was the saloon. The best room on the ship, if you ask me," Naruto said as they climbed back up through the hatch. "So, uh, you've met everyone, as far as- oh, wait; one more person. Wait here." He walked over to the ropes hanging from the main mast and began to climb up, and up, until he disappeared behind the sail and Sasuke couldn't see him anymore.

For several awkward minutes he stood there, alone in the middle of the deck, focused on keeping his stomach settled. Then Naruto landed beside him, making both him and his stomach jerk unpleasantly.

"Oh, sorry, Sasuke," he said, scratching his scarred cheek. "This is Shikamaru," he added as another boy jumped down and landed beside him.

Shikamaru had long, dark hair, tied in a single ponytail at the top of his head, giving him a pineapple-like appearance. His eyes were half closed and slightly red, whether from boredom, weariness, aggravation or something else, Sasuke didn't know, nor did he ask. There was a small cigar resting on his bottom lip, smoke rising steadily from the tip. He nodded in greeting, half-heartedly lifting a hand as well, but he dropped it quickly. "Hey, Uchiha," he muttered, before vanishing sluggishly up the shrouds again.

"That's Shikamaru, for you. He's our look-out, or he's supposed to be anyhow. He usually just sits up there watching the clouds or sleeping. But he's a genius, so Gaara likes to keep him around." Naruto laughed, but stopped when he noticed Sasuke hadn't joined in. "You're a really quiet person, aren't you?"

Sasuke shrugged and breathed a short, "Hn."

Naruto smirked and narrowed his eyes, tapping his finger critically against Sasuke's chest. "Yeah, yeah, you are. But no problem; I like doing the talking."

---

After meeting the crew Naruto brought Sasuke to the small room under the forecastle deck.

Windows, like those in the room he woke in that morning, lined the sides of the room. The curtains in here were of white lace, however, and didn't give him much of a view of anything due to the awkward angle they were at and the darkening of the sky around them.

The room itself contained not much besides an old ebony piano, a blank canvas, a small bookcase and a storage trunk. Naruto strolled right over to the piano and sat down on its matching ebony bench. He turned to look at Sasuke expectantly. The brunet took a quick once-over around the room, noticing an uncomfortable amount of cobwebs, before sitting down next to the blond.

Naruto began to play as soon as Sasuke sat down. His fingers moved ceaselessly over the glossy keys and Sasuke forgot for a moment how clumsy the man had been when on his feet; the motions of his digits were so utterly flawless. He hadn't seen someone play the piano like that since his family had been alive.

The tune went through several different movements, some happy, some more depressing, but all equally beautiful, before Naruto finally finished and looked over to Sasuke, face tinged lightly with red.

"That was amazing," Sasuke said quietly, full of awe and admiration, and Naruto smiled. "My brother used to play piano for hours and I would just sit there and listen, completely at ease with the music. He was amazing. You…you reminded me of those times. It was…nice."

Naruto continued smiling warmly for a moment, and then he asked, "He doesn't play anymore?"

"Not exactly," was all Sasuke said in response, and the conversation was over.

---

"So, Sasuke, how'd you like your first day on the open sea?" Naruto asked, dangling his legs over the side of the ship, his boots long since discarded. They were sitting against the rails of The Shuriken, settled near the front of the ship, watching the last rays of the day's sun disperse behind the horizon.

Sasuke took a moment to think about the question; he wasn't really sure. It was so unexpected to wake up out here, when the last thing he could remember was being cold, wet and out of tea. He found it especially hard to believe that these people had rescued him without wanting anything in return. It was almost like a dream.

"It was…" He paused. "I don't think my stomach can handle it much longer, to be honest."

Naruto nodded and grinned. "You'll get used to that."

It was quiet again for a few minutes when Temari came up and told them that food was on. Naruto nodded and told her that they'd be down in a bit.

When they were alone again, Sasuke asked, "So, when, uh… when do you think I'll be brought back home?"

Naruto didn't reply, but looked woefully out at the sunset.

**TBC**


	3. Harmony

**Warning:** Much cussing in the second paragraph, but beyond that is pretty darn decent in comparison. I apologize in advance to those who dislike swearing.

Thanks again to those who reviewed.

I own nothing. Enjoy. :)

**Chapter Three - Harmony**

The next morning Sasuke woke to the creaking of a ship and the sounds of the ocean. _No, no, no, please tell me it was all just a dream._

He slowly pealed his eyes open and glanced around. _Fuck. _It hadn't been a dream.

There was that fucking desk, covered in those fucking maps, and those tall fucking bookcases in a desperate need of a fucking dusting, and those large, fucking windows that were showing him that sparkling, cerulean expanse of _fucking _ocean.

He felt sick.

Then the burgundy carpet got hit with another dose of Sasuke's innards.

---

When he awoke for the second time there was a warm blanket wrapped around him, a cool, wet rag resting on his forehead and a Naruto sitting at his feet.

"It's about time you woke up," the blond said, putting down the book he had been reading. Sasuke groaned. His mouth tasted like bile. "Here." Naruto held out a cup of water, which Sasuke took gratefully and quickly downed.

"Thanks," he choked.

"No problem," he said, taking the cup and putting it to the side. "You feel any better? I came in and found you all… pukey." He made a face.

Sasuke smiled softly. "Yeah, better," he muttered, wiping sweat off of his face and neck with the rag. Naruto smiled back.

After Sasuke cleaned himself up, the two headed to breakfast together. Since everyone else had already eaten, they would be eating alone.

Upon entering the saloon, Chouji rushed from the galley to place mounds of food on the table. "I had to make more food. Looking at how thin you are makes me want to cry," he explained abruptly before darting away. Naruto chuckled and sat down, quickly working away at the heap of breakfast.

While munching on his toast, Sasuke vaguely remembered the night before, when he had been convinced to have a small glass of rum with dinner. _Remember not to drink again for a while_, he told himself as he felt his stomach stir and his head throb.

"Naruto, you never told me what you do," he said after they had settled, to get his mind off his physical ache. "On the ship, I mean," he added, looking over to the blond sitting across the table.

He swallowed. "I make a lot of repairs. I'm like the ships doctor, I suppose; like a carpenter. But really I'm just a basic deckhand; I help out with everything else too. Except steering. Gaara doesn't let me do that anymore." He sniggered at a past memory.

Sasuke nodded and finished his buttered toast, neglecting to eat anything else.

After breakfast they returned to the room. _Cabin_, Sasuke scolded himself. _You're on a ship now_. Though he didn't really know why he cared.

For most of the morning he listened to Naruto talk about all sorts of things; Shikamaru's laziness, how great Chouji's cooking was, Kiba and 'that stupid dog,' Temari's breasts, and anything else that came to the blond's mind.

"How old are ya, anyway?" he asked in the middle of a rant about the crazy storms they'd been getting all summer.

It was a sudden question with no relevance to the topic and it took Sasuke by surprise. "I'll be seventeen in two weeks," he replied after a moment.

"Huh," was his only response, short and surprised.

"What is it?" he asked, looking up to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Just thought you were a couple years older, is all." Naruto picked up the book from that morning and began leafing through it distractedly.

"I get that a lot," Sasuke said after a long while. Maybe too long; the room had gotten strangely tense. "Sakura says it's my eyes."

Naruto looked up, interested. "Sakura?"

Sasuke shrugged "She's just a friend of mine."

"Hmm." Naruto went back to the book and continued reading, and Sasuke returned to picking absent-mindedly at a loose string on the sheet.

---

By that afternoon, Naruto was a good quarter of the way through his book and Sasuke had successfully detached the loose string from the sheet, along with many others from the sheet, his shirt, wherever. He hadn't had the guts to ask for his own book to read even though Naruto was the very opposite of intimidating and reading happened to be one of his favourite things to do.

There was a quick knock on the door and Gaara came in just as Naruto stretched and put his book down.

"We're going to move you down with the rest of the men, Sasuke," he stated without greeting.

"Oh… okay."

"Where's he going to be staying?"

Gaara scratched his forehead. "That's what I came here to talk to you about, Naruto. I would like to move him into your room."

"But Sai-"

"Has already moved in with Kakashi."

Naruto shrugged, obviously content with the situation.

"How's that sound, Sasuke? You can handle sharing a room with Naruto, right?" The blond frowned behind him.

Sasuke nodded then started, "Uh, Gaa-"

"You may call me Captain, or Sir."

"…Sir, how much longer am I going to be here?"

The Captain was quiet, contemplating, for a second. Then, "I'm not sure yet." He turned to leave when Sasuke stopped him.

"If you don't mind me asking… Where do you sleep? Sir."

"For the past few days I have been sleeping in Temari's room," he began, still facing the door. "But now that you're up and about I thought that I might like to have my room back." His voice wasn't stern, but wasn't happy either.

Sasuke nodded slowly, eyes wide. Naruto snorted.

---

For the remainder of the day Naruto took Sasuke around the ship, explaining what everything did. "These are the masts, of course, and they hold the sails. And up there," he pointed up to the top of the main mast, "is Shikamaru's crows nest. You get up there by climbing these, the shrouds." He indicated the rope netting he had climbed up the previous day. "Don't try though… they're harder to climb than they look, especially in the wind, and you're a bit on the scrawny side."

He also allowed Sasuke to spend some more time with some of the crew, although the brunet found he didn't feel near as comfortable with any of them as he did with Naruto, and he felt the extreme opposite of comfortable around a couple of them.

There were a couple times during the day when Naruto left him for a few minutes to help someone with the sails or the swabbing, but then he would come back and the knot in Sasuke's chest would loosen again.

Closer to dinner they found themselves up on the quarterdeck. Naruto's legs were poked through the railings again and were hanging freely off the back of the ship. "And that there is the rudder," he finished, pointing down to the very back of the ship.

Sasuke just smiled and allowed himself to soak up the late-afternoon sunshine. He had taken in more information in the past two days than he had in the last five years of his life. He was exhausted.

"Hey, Naruto?" He broke the silence after a few content minutes.

"Mmm?"

"You never told me how old you are."

Naruto looked over at him. "I'm twenty-two," he said.

_Oh._ "Hn. Are you all that old?"

Naruto scoffed. "Okay, we're not _old_. We're all in our early to mid twenties, though, if that's what you mean. Except for Temari, who's almost thirty, and Kakashi, who's, like, eighty or something." He sniffed and nodded. "Now, _he__'__s_ old." He paused. "Why're you asking?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Just wondering."

---

It was on his third morning of being aboard The Shuriken when Sasuke woke, this time certain that it had all been nothing but a dream.

But then he realised that the rocking was still present and that he was just in a different room. He had slept different last night; the bed was smaller, less than half the size of Gaara's, and instead of being comfortable, it had felt more like sleeping right on the floor. But he hadn't been alone while he slept this time, and with Naruto there, he had fallen asleep much easier than the night before.

He sighed and shifted over in to glance at the other cot in the room. Upon seeing that it was empty he had a slight panic attack, but he told himself that Naruto was probably just gotten hungry and left to get an early breakfast.

Rolling out of bed, he pulled off the shirt and trousers he has worn to bed and put on clean ones before tugging on his boots. Then, sighing and rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he made his way down the hall to the saloon.

"Morning," was his greeting from Lee as he pushed open the door.

"Morning… where's Naruto?" he asked uneasily, noticing that the green-clad man was the only body in the room besides himself.

"I'm not sure. Went up to deck, probably. There's a lot of work to do. Here, eat something. You're so thin." He pushed a plate of eggs towards Sasuke, who sat and ate them obediently.

After finishing his breakfast in silence he gulped down a cup of water then excused himself. Lee nodded and continued eating his own breakfast of bacon and beans.

Sasuke's first thought upon arriving on deck was that he should have grabbed something warmer to wear. The sky was overcast and the air was chilly. Just wanting to find Naruto, he ignored the cold and walked over to Shino. "Have you seen Naruto?" he asked.

"Why, yes. Just yesterday I saw him. We were at dinner and he was shovelling his potatoes-"

"Yeah." Sasuke interrupted, and then went to ask Neji the same question.

"I think he mentioned something about a piano while I trying to ignore him."

Sasuke nodded and rushed off to the room Naruto had shown him two days previous, leaving Neji alone to mumble. He knocked quietly on the door, but got no response. He knocked again, louder this time, but still there was no answer. Frowning, he opened the door to find that Naruto wasn't alone in the room. He was sitting at the piano, as Neji had said, while Sai was sitting on a nearby stool, painting scenery on the canvas.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke came in and sat down beside Naruto on the piano bench, in the corner furthest from the artist, who gave him a complacent smirk before returning to his painting.

"Found me, did ya?" Naruto laughed without looking away from his sheet music. Sasuke glared to little affect.

Naruto glanced at him fleetingly and said, "Don't look at me like that. Here, come 'n play." He slid over to make more room.

"I don't know how," Sasuke stated, still frowning.

Naruto gaped. "You mean your brother used to play for you all the time but never taught you?" Sasuke shook his head. "Not even the basics of music?"

"…My father wouldn't let him take precious time out of his practice to teach me," Sasuke revealed sadly.

Naruto sighed and turned back to the piano. "I'll teach you then," he said, wiggling his fingers over the keys and smiling.

Sai laughed from the other side of the room.

"What? Don't think I can do it?" Naruto questioned challengingly, slamming his fingers onto the piano, his smile effectively gone.

"No, I don't." Sai shook his head, continuing to laugh softly. "You can't do much."

"He can play," Sasuke interjected, turning his glare onto Sai.

"Impressive in itself, but I doubt he can pass his only skill onto someone else. Still, I'll tell you this…" He flicked his brush, getting little green splatters on Naruto's shirt, choosing to ignore the ensuing scowl. "Play me an enjoyable song this time tomorrow, and if I like it I'll take your deck swabbing duty for the next week."

"Seriously?" Naruto asked, sceptical. Sai nodded, smiling widely. "And if you don't like it?"

"Ah, my favourite part! - I get to move back into my room, and sonny here can bunk up with Kakashi."

The blond shook his head slowly. "I don't think so, Sai. Maybe-" he began.

"Let's do it."

"Sasuke…"

"I can do it. _You_ can do it. I trust you." Besides, he very much wanted to see Sai squirm when they proved him wrong.

Naruto smiled and nodded, then took Sai's hand in his own. "You're on, pasty-face."

---

They spent the better part of the day practicing. Naruto taught Sasuke all the notes on the piano as well as the basics to reading sheet music, although he was still having difficulties with the latter. Mostly he just taught a short tune to Sasuke by getting him to memorize where and when to place his fingers on the keys, as it was quicker and seemed to be easier for the brunet to catch on to.

He spent most of the afternoon frustrated with himself, but by dinner Sasuke was pretty confident in the song he was learning: a beautiful duet Naruto had chosen. After Naruto had inhaled his daily four plates of dinner, they returned to the piano and made touch-ups to the song.

Naruto looked exceptionally delighted when they played through it perfectly for the first time. Sasuke hadn't been so proud of himself in a long time.

The next morning, after a filling breakfast, they returned to the piano room, this time with Sai and Shikamaru in tow. Naruto had insisted that someone else come so that Sai wouldn't lie and say that it was terrible in order to win, and, since Shikamaru was equally impartial to everyone, he had been chosen the unlucky one.

Sasuke found himself anxious as they sat down in front of the ebony piano. However, he was also confident in Naruto's teaching abilities as well as Shikamaru being fair in judgement. And so, when they began to play, he immediately forgot all about being nervous and focused only on the music.

The song was short but sweet, and when they were finished Naruto looked over to see a very defeated Sai sulking in the corner.

"Fuck… Another night of Kakashi's snoring ahead, I guess," Sai whined.

Naruto grinned broadly then heard a harsh snore in the room. Looking behind him he saw Shikamaru dozing against the wall, still on his feet.

---

That night when Sasuke was lying on his cot, trying desperately to get to sleep despite his discomfort, Naruto tiptoed into the room.

"You awake?" the blond whispered.

"Hn," was the sleepy reply.

"I've got something for you." Sasuke could practically hear the smile in his voice.

He sat up sluggishly and looked over at the blond, who was now sitting on his own bed and lighting the table lamp. "What is it?"

"This." He held out a small brown book. The word 'Beethoven' was printed in golden lettering across the top. "It's about the famous pianist. Since you seemed to enjoy playing so much, I thought you might like to have a look."

Sasuke took it, turning it over in his hands and smiled lightly. "Thanks."

---

When Naruto was sure Sasuke had fallen asleep he snuck out the room and into Shikamaru's across the hall.

"Where's Chouji?" he asked the smoking boy, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

"Tidying the galley," he replied, blowing smoke from his mouth. "Where's Sasuke?"

"Sleeping."

After an awkward silence in which Naruto began tapping his foot, Shikamaru asked, "So what do you think of him?"

"Huh? Chouji?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "No, idiot; Sasuke."

"Oh! He's great." He smiled.

"Naruto… You can't possibly be thinking about going after that kid, can you?" Shikamaru asked monotonously, putting his cigar out on the wall.

"Wha-?! No!"

"Your eyes were sparkling just now. I know you. Don't lie."

"No! I'm not! I just mean he plays great!" the blond rushed to say. "I mean, did you hear us earlier? We're incredible together!"

"You mean you sound incredible together?" Shikamaru sighed.

The blond swallowed, face flushed. "Y-yeah. That!"

"Naruto…"

The room went quiet again. Shikamaru lit up another cigar and smoked in silence. Naruto's foot tapping increased rapidly until he blurted, "Okay, okay, I kinda like him! Alright? You happy now?"

Shikamaru blew out a puff of smoke and shrugged. "Not immensely."

---

It had been a week since Sasuke had roused, warm, dry and rescued from the storm. Though it hadn't been an extremely busy week, it was more action than Sasuke had experienced in a long while.

In the past week Sasuke had not only slept on a cot for the first time, but had also had the displeasure of throwing up in it almost every morning. There, and on the floor of his and Naruto's shared room. A total of eleven times he had thrown up, and only twice were over the side of the ship. One time, which Sasuke was still liberally apologizing for, he had thrown up not only on the freshly cleaned companionway, but all over Naruto as well. The burgundy rug had been spared.

In the past week Sasuke had experienced all kinds of different foods. He had eaten more strange things for breakfast alone than he had his entire life previous. He also experienced the ups and downs of alcohol. Although they were mostly downs, like discovering that alcohol was definitely _not_ for him, he had also discovered that a drunken Captain was much easier to speak to than a sober one.

In the past week Sasuke had decided that he had made his second friend; Naruto. They had spent practically the entire week together. After waking up Naruto would spend the day teaching Sasuke more about ships, and telling him amusing anecdotes about the crew. They would play piano and eat meals together. And, before dinner, they would sit and watch the sunset.

The only part of the past week that Sasuke could say he didn't enjoy, besides the vomiting, had been one particular night after dinner when everyone had left the saloon but Naruto, Sasuke and Sai. Naruto had disappeared from the table into the kitchen for only a moment when Sai, still sore from losing the bet, had scooted closer to Sasuke on the bench.

"You should be aware that Naruto is not who you think he is," he had commented. When Sasuke had remained silent he continued. "The guy's a tease; he'll fuck anything on two legs before abandoning them for someone new. Don't get involved in anything if you can't handle the heartbreak." Then he was up and gone and hadn't spoken to Sasuke since.

The brunet hadn't mentioned anything to Naruto because he was sure the guy was just pulling his leg. Naruto, a tease? Sure, he was a bit _teasing_ at times, but not a _tease_. And what did he mean by _fuck_ and _heartbreak_? Did he think that he and Naruto were going to get together? Because that wasn't going to happen.

Naruto didn't think of Sasuke that way.

**TBC**


	4. Scuffle

Thanks to those who took the time to review. :D

As always, I own nothing.

Enjoy. :)

**Chapter Four - Scuffle**

On the night of Sasuke's twelfth day on board The Shuriken a storm hit. It wasn't much; Kankuro was having only minor difficulty in steering the ship through the raging waves, and Gaara was helping with anything he needed. But it was enough to remind Sasuke how much he missed Sakura's basement on the solid ground, dirt broke or not.

"Here. Try to miss the floor next time."

Sasuke looked up from his place on the floor to see Shikamaru holding out a metal bucket in front of him. "Thanks," he mumbled, reaching out his hand shakily to take it.

The lazy man put minimal effort into a grunt and mumbled about troublesome Uchiha's. Sasuke vaguely remembered that he had never told them his name, that the Captain had known it before he had said it, but the memory was quickly lost as another wave of nausea hit him.

They were in the saloon. The deck was without light and only one kerosene lamp was lit below as only four of them were left awake.

The sun had long since gone down, and the crew long since gone to bed, but the rocking of the boat and thrashing of the waves had woken Sasuke and caused him rush to the head. There he had bumped into a half-sleeping Shikamaru on his way out.

Lee, having already been awake and exercising at the time, had heard noises from the hall and went to investigate. He was just in time to witness Sasuke throw up right in front of them both. All over the freshly mopped floor.

Now, Lee was just returning with Naruto, who had by then figured out just what to do to make Sasuke's nausea ebb away peacefully.

"You okay, Sasuke?" he asked, bending down in front of the seasick boy. He got a nod for an answer, then a gag and the sound of liquid hitting tin. He cringed and rushed to get a rag wet. When he returned, he sat beside Sasuke on the wooden floor and brought the cold cloth down onto his forehead. He continued to hold it there as he began rubbing circles in the back of his shirt. In almost no time the retching was gone, replaced by a tired sighing.

"Pure genius," Shikamaru whispered to an awed Lee. Then he yawned and said, "I'm going back to bed. G'night."

"I think I'll be heading back too. You okay here?" Lee asked as he turned to leave.

Naruto nodded. "We're fine," he mouthed. He continued to rub circles on Sasuke's back for a few minutes after Lee had gone before helping him up and getting them both back to bed.

---

Naruto was on the deck, raising the main sail with the help of Shino, Gaara was conversing with Temari on the quarterdeck and Chouji was in the galley getting breakfast started, but the sun had just risen and most of the crew was still sleeping off the rough night, including Sasuke.

Just as the sail was released, causing the ship to jolt forward as it caught a gust of the morning breeze, Gaara strolled over to Naruto. "Can I see you for a moment?" The blond nodded and followed the redhead into the Captain's cabin.

"What do you need?"

Gaara cut right to the chase. "You've gotten close to Sasuke, am I right?"

"Yeah." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why you asking?"

"It just seems weird to me…" the redhead began, rubbing his chin. "He's been with us for almost two weeks and we've only gotten the occasional question about when we're bringing him home." Naruto nodded in agreement. "And about his family, or friends even, we've heard next to nothing. You would think that he'd miss them. You would think that they'd worry…" He sat down at his desk and rubbed his temples. "_I__'__m_ beginning to worry."

**---**

When Sasuke came up to deck that morning he found it quiet but for the light sound of an inconsistent clinking. Walking up to the forecastle deck, he saw Neji and Shino sparring with long, shiny swords.

After a few moments of watching their lithe movements, Neji noticed him standing there and stopped, dropping his sword to his side. Shino followed his lead and they strolled over to stand with him, wiping sweat from their necks and foreheads.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Neji greeted, wiping the sweat from his palms onto his trousers before shaking Sasuke's hand. Shino nodded in greeting, putting his free hand into his pocket.

"What were you guys doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Sword fighting," Shino stated, before adding, "Want to try?"

Sasuke took a long look at the sword in Neji's hand, unsure.

Behind him Naruto was coming up the stairs, having just finished his conversation in the captain's cabin and noticing that Sasuke was up and about.

"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing the weapons.

"Ah, Naruto. We were just about to teach Sasuke how to use a cutlass, weren't we?" Neji turned to look at Sasuke, but before the brunet could reply Naruto cut in.

"What? No. You can't. Not you guys. Not now," he argued choppily.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked, a little crestfallen. He wasn't even sure whether he wanted to learn or not, but he would have liked the choice.

Naruto growled under his breath. "It's not exactly safe-"

"Come on. They're not sharpened." Neji handed a cutlass to Sasuke despite the look of horror Naruto was giving him, and the brunet took it carefully in both hands.

Neji watched him hold it with a slight smile on his face. "It feels a little awkward right now, but you'll get used to holding it after some practice."

"Yeah, right," Naruto agreed. "Practice that he's not going to be getting right now. Come on, Sasuke." He yanked the cutlass from his hands and shoved it back into Neji's just as Kakashi joined them from the deck below.

With a grin on his face, the man took the thin sword from Shino and swung it back and forth a few times with practiced ease. "Goodie. Come, Neji, I'll teach you the proper way to fight." He pulled the doctor away from the group and they quickly engaged in a sparring match.

Sasuke watched the swords clink together several times when a bark from behind made him jump. Akamaru and Kiba had joined them as well. Kiba was holding two more cutlasses and threw one to Shino, who caught it without hesitation. "I heard swordplay and decided to join," he said with a grin. "Let's have a go."

Shino sighed and followed Kiba off, Akamaru at his heels.

The two remaining stood and watched in silence as the pairs began to spar, their eyes following the rapid arm and leg movements. Then Naruto felt a smack across his shoulder. "Ouch, what was that for?" he hissed down at Sasuke.

"For not letting me try. What's the big deal? They can't be that dangerous; Neji said that they aren't even sharpened."

"That wasn't what I meant," the blond stated, frowning.

As if on cue, Kiba stating yelling. He threw his sword to the side and in a flash he had tackled Shino, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him down with to the floor with a heavy thud. Akamaru was next, throwing Shino back to the floor as he attempted to get up.

Within seconds Neji was growling furiously and launching himself at Kiba, getting a kick in the face from Akamaru in the process.

Kakashi, not bothering to get involved, pulled a book out from his vest and sat down to read against the wooden rails.

"That's what I meant," Naruto concluded, pointing down at the pile of people and dog rolling around on the floor.

---

He cleared his throat in an effort to rouse the talkative men. "It has been brought to my attention that there has been a sort of brawl on deck this morning," the Captain revealed, pacing in front of his crew. "I'm not too happy about it, to be frank. That's three times this month someone's gotten a broken limb." He stopped in his tracks to give a sympathetic look to Shino, who may have been glaring at Kiba, though it was hard to be sure with his eyes covered by the darkened glasses.

"I know that it gets a little oppressing being out at sea for months at a time," Gaara continued. "Believe me, I know. And because I'm such a nice guy," he laughed, "I have commanded Kankuro to set due course for The Senbon." He smirked deviously. "It's been a while boys, it's time to have some fun."

Kiba punched the air and whooped, the noise followed by a gathering chatter. Not two blinks of an eye later and the crew had dispersed, leaving a cloud of excitement swirling around Naruto and Sasuke.

"Naruto? What's a senbon?"

"Not _a_ senbon, _The_ Senbon," Shino breathed from the shadows behind, startling them both. He then walked away after the rest of the crew, shattered arm and all.

"The Senbon," Naruto said, giving Shino's back a perplexing look, "Is a kind of pub… It's located on a small island, home to no more than three hundred people. It's a bit of a party island, really, where people go to kick back while on the open seas. We have some, err, friends on the island. We visit often."

"Friends?" Sasuke inquired.

"Yeah, haha," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, Neji has two cousins that live there. One of them, Hinata, works at The Senbon. She and Kiba sometimes have a thing… she and I sometimes have a thing."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. Naruto was coughing and pulling on the collar of his shirt. "Whew, that cloud they left behind sure is getting stuffy."

---

Dinner was rowdy that night. Temari was missing from the group, busy sailing the ship, but the men were filled with an obvious excitement (not to mention a gallon of alcohol) about something which Sasuke still didn't fully understand.

In one of the rare silences that engulfed the group, while they were all inhaling their food simultaneously, Naruto gasped. "I almost forgot! Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it, Sasuke?" he exclaimed to the only sober one at the table.

"Uh, yeah, it is," the brunet replied quietly, very much aware of the crew's eyes upon him.

It took a moment to register in their heads, but when it did Shikamaru declared, "That's excellent. The Senbon has a birthday special." He raised a glass in toast, to which Lee joined before downing what was left of his rum.

Kiba wiggled his eyebrows then asked, "How old you gonna be?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "Seventeen."

"Yeah? Great! Seventeen is a fantastic year! You're old enough to have sex and hold your liquor and stuff, but you're still young enough to be irresponsible and immature! Best age, hands down."

"I must agree with dog-boy," Neji stated as he took a bite from a crisp apple. He was the least drunk of the drunk, preferring to be in a sound mind even when his mind was foggy. According to him, anyway.

"I concur as well," Shino muttered from the corner.

_Huh? Hold my alcohol?_ Sasuke thought as agreements were made all around. _I can barely hold regular food on this heap of floating wood. And sex? Now? _It wasn't something he had given much thought to, at least not near as much as most boys his age. Most of his problems revolved around having no money or home or family.

"…can still be with all the girls you want…" Kiba was saying, though Sasuke wasn't really listening.

"I've only ever been with one girl and I'm great," Shikamaru said. Kiba coughed a quick "loser" before continuing with what he had been saying.

"As I was saying, at seventeen you can still be with all the girls you want, since you're not being pressured into settling down. Not that I would mind settling down with Hinata someday. But you understand."

"I remember being seventeen," Kankuro said, effectively cutting Kiba off from his blabbering. "That was when we met you guys." He indicated Naruto and Kakashi.

"I was seventeen when I bought this ship," Gaara said, evident pride written on his face.

"I met Ino when I was seventeen," Chouji inputted.

"What about you, old man?" Kankuro jeered at Kakashi. "Or was it too long ago for you to remember?" He got a smack upside the head from Gaara.

Kakashi smirked. "I'll have you know, _young man_, that I got more action at seventeen than any of you have had your entire life." Kiba snorted and Kankuro choked on his stew. "Of course, living on land in the company of rich men and promiscuous women did help a bit." He chuckled.

"I got action for the first time at seventeen," Lee mused. "Sweet woman. 'Bout twenty-two, she was."

"Five years apart, huh?" Naruto inquired quietly, looking satisfied.

"You waited that long?" Sai gaped, dropping his fork. When Lee nodded, he whistled.

"How old were you?" Sasuke asked, suddenly interested.

Sai shrugged artfully and picked his fork up from the floor. Neji mouthed "He's still a virgin," behind his hand, to which Sasuke smiled.

Kiba, on the other hand, answered rapidly and guiltily. "Well, uh, I wasn't fifteen, that's for sure," he said, scratching his nose.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned to face dog-like man. "Were you?" he breathed.

"No!" Kiba exclaimed, not entirely convincingly.

"He was fourteen," Shino whispered between bites of cheese.

Kiba glared. "Hey! …Well, uh, at least I didn't sleep with the first girl I ever kissed!"

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, blushing and jumping up to point a finger accusingly at Kiba. "At least I knew what and _where_ everything was!"

Kiba snarled and threw himself across the table at the blond.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Idiots," he said, not bothering at all to subtle. Chouji chuckled beside him.

"So, how about you, Sasuke? How old were you?" Lee asked in a calm, polite manner, quite unlike how everyone else was speaking, though it was quite slurred.

Sasuke froze and looked around to see eleven pairs of human eyes and those of a dog suddenly locked on him.

"Well, I've, uh…" He swallowed. "I've never-"

"Never!?" Kiba interjected, crawling off Naruto and taking a seat beside Sasuke. "Just as bad as Lee, I see," he said, placing an arm around his shoulders. He failed to notice that everyone else seemed to think that this was perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately so did Sasuke, who was getting the feeling that maybe he was doing something wrong.

"…Never," he confirmed, abashed.

"Jeez, we need to find you a woman! Good thing we'll be at The Senbon tomorrow. Plenty to choose from there! Don't you worry Sasuke," Kiba said, rubbing his shoulder. "You'll be a man soon enough."

Sasuke groaned. Naruto frowned.

**TBC**


	5. Evanescent

Sorry about the slow update. Exams have been killer, but summer is here!

Big thank-you to me reviewers!

I disclaim all. Enjoy. :)

**Chapter Five - Evanescent**

"Hey, birthday boy!" Kiba shouted across the galley. The dog-like man strolled over immediately upon entering the large room and plopped down onto the bench beside Sasuke, picking at his cold uneaten breakfast. "Feel any older?"

"Not really," Sasuke admitted. _Just more pathetic._

"That's alright." He shoved a piece of bread into his mouth and swallowed. "Tonight you'll have an experience much greater than any you've ever had before," he said, trying and failing to sound enigmatic.

---

Sasuke was on deck. Alone.

Well, not completely; Kankuro was there, but he was busy steering the ship, and Shikamaru was up in the crows nest, though he was probably sleeping. The only other person present was Kakashi, and he was immersed in one of those strange books he always had with him.

The brunet was feeling extremely awkward and Naruto wasn't there to help him out. Why'd he have to agree to help out in the hold anyway? Didn't he know that by now that Sasuke wasn't very good with people? Or by himself, for that matter? He was, in fact, standing alone in the middle of the deck, fiddling with his hands in an effort to feel less awkward, but instead feeling more and more ungainly as the seconds ticked by.

He sighed. Despite the lack of Sasuke's social skills, the looming discomfort of the silence was too much to handle, and so he decided to break it. He walked over to Kakashi and plopped down beside him. "Hey, Kakashi," he said, trying his best to sound casual. Sasuke had enough trouble talking to people his own age, let alone some old man. _Damn Naruto! Kakashi's not _that_ old!_

"What are you up to, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, closing his book and looking up.

Sasuke sighed and leaned back against the railing of The Shuriken. "Nothing, really. Naruto's busy and-"

"And he's the only one you feel comfortable talking to."

It wasn't a question, and Sasuke didn't know how to respond.

"It's alright," the older man continued at Sasuke's silence. "You'll get used to everyone around here eventually. It took Sai a while, and he's still a bit of a loner. But I don't think anyone's quite as incompetent as him." He giggled; a sound that didn't suit him in the least.

Sasuke nodded, but was confused about Kakashi's word usage; "Eventually, a while." Wasn't he supposed to be going home soon? Not that anyone had said anything about it… The crew seemed to avoid that subject.

He vaguely heard Kakashi talking again. "Huh?" he asked as he brushed his thoughts aside.

"I asked if you were okay. You've seemed pretty detached since this morning. Just now was a good example. You should be enjoying yourself; it is your birthday, after all."

"…I'm fine," he said and sighed again.

"Don't worry about it," the man said after a moment. Sasuke looked up at him. "Just because Naruto and Kiba were young doesn't mean all of us were. Just go at your own pace."

Oh, wow, that man could read him like an open book. "How old were you?" he asked after getting over the initial shock of the man's understanding.

"Ripe age of… fifteen. But don't base your standards on me either; I'm the one who reads the dirty novels, remember?" He waved his book out in front of them. He then smirked under his mask and stood to walk away. "See you later, Sasuke."

Kakashi was already on the other side of the ship when Sasuke muttered a small, "Yeah, later."

---

"Land ho," was heard amidst the dropping of the sails. It was a bored voice, and also a late one as the land had been sighted already, but a voice nonetheless. Shikamaru was awake, and just in time.

The sun sank below the horizon just before the crew had pulled out the oars and began to row toward the shore. The air was getting cool, and Sasuke had put on a long-sleeved shirt. He watched from the bow of the ship as it was manoeuvred into an alcove of the island. From where he was standing, he could see what he was sure was most of the town, scatted over a small part of the already small island.

A hand from behind touched his shoulder, making him jump slightly. When he noticed it was Naruto, he eased up and unconsciously leaned into it.

"We're here," the blond said, not sounding at all too thrilled. "That's the pub." He pointed in the direction of the lights before stalking away. Before Sasuke's shoulder could begin to feel too lonely another hand was placed upon it, this time Lee's.

"Come on, Sasuke. The pub's just opening, but the good stuff goes fast."

---

Sasuke had had his fair share of alcohol in the past weeks, and decided to refrain from drinking any that night, or ever again, but he did watch as Naruto sat at the bar and drowned himself in five, six… nine… twelve beers.

The pub was cosy enough, and it was easier for Sasuke to conceal himself than he thought it would be, what with all the people around. Built entirely of wood, with a small black oven in the corner and kerosene lamps all around, the place seemed to glow red. The people within all seemed to glow as well, from lust, alcohol or the heat from a hundred dancing bodies.

Naruto had not been lying when he said it was a party island.

When they had first entered the sizable building earlier that evening, Sasuke had been introduced to six women. The first three were waiting for them at the door.

Tenten was the kind of girl Sasuke thought he might end up with someday; a simple girl with a beautiful smile. Friendly and not overbearing.

Hinata had the same white eyes as Neji, with cropped, navy hair. Her face always seemed to be flushed with nervousness or embarrassment but she, too, was extremely friendly.

The blonde, beautiful, but domineering girl was Ino. She had a fringe covering one of her bright blue eyes that pleasantly reminded Sasuke a bit of Naruto's.

All three of the girls seemed to be particularly friendly with the crew. Almost right away Kiba had taken Hinata to the side and sat with her at a private table. Seconds later Neji and Tenten advanced to the bar and Ino hauled Chouji to the dance floor.

After meeting the girls, Sasuke was introduced to an older woman, Tsunade, the owner of the pub. She was also blonde, and looked no older than forty unless you got close enough to gaze into her prudent but rampant eyes. With her had been two other women, Shizune and Anko, both of which had vanished with Kakashi moments later, before they had even been properly introduced.

As the night progressed the entire crew had seemingly forgotten about him amidst all the alcohol and women, and so Sasuke was able to shrink into the background. For a while anyway.

As he was finishing his dinner, Lee, Kiba and Shikamaru pulled up chairs and joined him at his otherwise empty table.

"There are plenty of women here tonight, Uchiha. Grab one and get going. You've only got another year left to be seventeen!" Kiba exclaimed in a hushed voice so that Hinata wouldn't hear him from a couple tables over where she was conversing with Temari, who had just come out of an adjoining room with Shikamaru looking extremely pleased.

"Go for it, Sasuke! Let your youth flow!" Lee cheered.

"Look, there's one." Shikamaru nodded towards a petite dark-haired girl who was chatting with the bartender. "You guys make a perfect porcelain doll set," he said, chuckling. Sasuke glared at him.

"Come, I'll help you," Kiba said, and before Sasuke could object he was being pulled towards the bar.

Lee and Shikamaru were still grinning idiotically when Naruto waltzed over to their table, stumbling over chairs, his eyes wide and blood-shot.

"I hate you guys, you know that?" he hissed between hiccups.

"What? Why?" Lee asked, genuinely offended.

"Because you're setting him up with women! And you know I like him! That's why!" He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"Naruto, if he hasn't shown interest in you yet, what makes you think he's suddenly going to change his mind now? He's straight, get over it," Shikamaru said, already bored with the blond's whining.

"No, no! You see, I've got a plan," Naruto slurred, giggling.

"Oh, you do?" Shikamaru yawned.

"Yeah, yeah. It's right here, in my head." He stroked the top of his head, beaming. Then his face fell. "You just need to stop setting him up first!"

"Ah," Shikamaru sighed.

"You know, Naruto, you really should be talking to Kiba," Lee said. "He's the one that's insistent on-."

A piercing screech and a loud 'Fuck!' filled the room, causing Lee to stop mid-sentence.

"I don't think that's a problem anymore," Shikamaru added, suddenly more amused.

Naruto turned to see what Shikamaru was laughing at and saw Sasuke holding the side of his head, Kiba looking torn between hysterics and guilt, and a small, dark-haired girl with a look of pure rage on her face. She raised her fist again, this time striking Sasuke on the nose, resulting in a satisfying crack. He swore again and covered his face with his hands.

When the girl went to strike again Tsunade strolled over, pushing her way through the gathering bystanders, and pulled her back in attempt to calm her down.

Gaara appeared from nowhere, alongside Tsunade, and whispered to Temari, "This was a mistake. Gather the men, we're leaving." She nodded and did as she was told.

Sasuke had fallen to the floor and was still clutching his nose. Kiba was now looking mostly guilty, but a small smirk still fought its way through his worried expression as he helped Sasuke on to his feet. The crew quickly and discreetly slipped out and not ten minutes later the men were boarded once again on The Shuriken, where Kiba was being scolded by Hinata.

"You didn't have to grab her ass!" she yelled furiously, her face a bright shade of red.

"I was doing Sasuke a favour! He was never going to get anywhere just standing there looking stubborn!" he reasoned. "Besides, the girl was half his size; she couldn't have hurt him too bad!"

Below deck Neji was holding a cloth to Sasuke's nose in an effort to stop the profuse blood flow. Sasuke's constant swearing wasn't helping matters, and neither was Naruto's hovering.

"Would you _stop_ that?!" Neji finally cracked, making Naruto's slight frown turn into an instant pout. He sat down obediently anyway, but not before he stuck out his tongue childishly.

Neji removed the cloth, dabbing a few times to wipe off excess blood, and told Sasuke that he was going to be okay and that his nose wasn't broken. Sasuke swore one last time, standing and kicking his chair. He then stormed out of the room, heading toward his own cabin. Naruto was quickly up and following.

The first thing Sasuke did upon entering his cabin was chuck his bloodied shirt into the corner. He then fell on his bunk and grabbed the hand mirror to examine his nose. "Fuck!" he swore again.

Naruto entered the room and closed the door clumsily behind him, tipsy from the alcohol he had consumed.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Does it look like I'm okay, idiot?" Sasuke snapped.

"I think you always look okay," Naruto mumbled before falling onto his own bed, losing both his shirt and boots in the process.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked, partially distracted by his swelling nose.

"Nothin'." The blond blew out the lamp and flopped in his bed, trying to get comfortable. He heard Sasuke rummaging around looking for a clean shirt. For some reason the boy never slept topless and Naruto remained disappointed.

"Hey, Sasuke?" His voice cut through the darkness. When he heard a muffled 'hmm' he continued. "Are you sure you're okay? I could get you something if you'd like."

"…No, it's okay. Thanks, Naruto," Sasuke replied, his anger receding to be replaced with a numb throbbing. After he was settled under his covers he cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Is there something wrong with me?" he asked quietly. "Kiba said it's weird to still be a… virgin… at seventeen. And earlier at the pub, that girl was repulsed by the thought that I had touched her and-"

"There's nothing wrong with you. She was just angry. You're not supposed to go around grabbing girl's asses like that, even in they are looking for a good time; they don't like it. Kiba's just a stupid jerk. He gets everyone pissed off. She just misunderstood and thought it was you."

Sasuke nodded although he knew Naruto couldn't see him.

"And about what Kiba was saying," he continued, "Don't worry about it. He's an idiot. I just told you that." Naruto couldn't help but smile a little. "He shouldn't have been doing what he was doing when he was that age anyway. And he shouldn't flaunt it about like it's something to be proud of. That girl is a girl long forgotten and the first time is supposed to be something special, something memorable. Don't throw it away, Sasuke."

The cabin was quiet for a bit after that, but it was an almost content quietness, and Naruto had almost fallen asleep when Sasuke voiced, "So there's nothing wrong with me?"

Naruto groaned, frustrated. How could he prove that there was nothing wrong with the annoying bastard?

When Sasuke didn't get an answer he shifted to look over at Naruto's bed. He was surprised to see the other man was sitting up, pushing his covers away with his feet. Sasuke watched, confused, as Naruto moved to the edge of his bunk and finally stood, crossing the short distance between the beds.

"Want me to prove nothing is wrong with you?" Sasuke didn't make to reply but Naruto didn't need one.

Sasuke's slight confusion momentarily dispersed to be replaced by an even greater confusion mixed with excitement and anxiety. A dark blush crept across his face and his heart sped as Naruto pulled him forward roughly by the neck so that their lips met. It was sloppy and short, maybe too much so to be considered anything truly special, but Sasuke closed his eyes anyway, lost in the moment.

"Is that enough to convince you?" Naruto asked when they broke apart, still holding Sasuke's neck in his hand. His eyes were narrowed and dangerously red and he stared at Sasuke like that for several moments before returning to his bed, where he flopped down, facing the wall. "Happy birthday, you annoying bastard," he grumbled before falling into unconsciousness.

Sasuke didn't know how long it took him to finally fall asleep, what with his pounding heart and spinning head, but that night brought some of the most peaceful dreams he had ever had.

**TBC**


	6. Haze

Thanks again to all my reviewers! You guys are the best!

I could be a bit happier with this chapter, but here it is nonetheless.

I disclaim everything. Enjoy. :)

**Chapter Six - Haze**

Naruto groaned as he walked into the galley the next morning.

"How fares the head?" Kankuro asked as the blue-eyed man fell onto the bench across from him.

The blond groaned again and snorted. "Not too well. Last night is kind of a blur. Sasuke did, uh, get punched right? By a tiny girl? Blood was dripping from his nose onto Tsunade's good wooden flooring?"

Chouji, the only other person in the room, laughed heartily. "Yeah, she wasn't too thrilled about that. Ino told her she'd help to get the stain out though. Funny how that boy always looks like he's dying from shortage of blood and then he goes and gets his nose cracked and it's spurting the stuff like a waterfall."

"Yeah, funny," Naruto agreed absently. He felt as though something else had happened last night but couldn't quite place what it could be. Averting his thoughts, he asked, "Hey, Kankuro, who's piloting the ship?"

"Gaara's up there, I think. He's the only one sober enough to avoid collisions in these rocky waters."

"After you went to bed we restocked our alcohol supplies with help from Hinata and then set out. There's, uh, not much left this morning." Chouji indicated the stack of empty barrels in the corner. "Gaara didn't have a drop. He seemed pretty absorbed. Almost angry, actually."

Kankuro sipped from his drink and added, "I think he said something about needing to talk to you. But you were sleeping and he didn't want to wake you."

"Maybe I should see him now," Naruto said, standing from the table without breakfast. He wasn't too hungry anyway; his head was still whirling.

When he got up to the quarterdeck he found Neji steering the ship in place of Gaara.

"Hey, where's Gaara?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Went back to bed. But if you need to see him just knock; he's probably still awake. The guy rarely sleeps."

When Naruto was told to enter the captain's cabin a moment later, he crossed the threshold warily. "I heard that you wanted to see me?"

Gaara looked up at him from dozens of loose papers on his desk. "Yes, sit." When Naruto did as told, the redhead went on. "I was talking to Tsunade last night. We had an interesting chat about Sasuke. You know what she tells me, Naruto? She tells me that there have been no notices of a missing boy. Anywhere. Not one." He exhaled heatedly. "No one has mentioned anything even remotely related to an Uchiha." He kicked his desk. "We've waited too long for an offered reward. We have no idea what's going on and we're running out of time; we need to bring this issue right to him."

---

Naruto entered his cabin huffily, slamming the door behind him.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked as casually as he could muster from his place on his bunk. He sat up, closing the book on Beethoven, which he had been working to finish.

Naruto blanched when he noticed he wasn't alone. "Oh, heh, yeah." He coughed. "I'm good." His world spun and he grabbed his head. "Mostly. I've still got a splitting headache and I can't really recall much of last night."

Sasuke's eyebrows met. "You can't?" he asked, placing the book shakily on the bedside table.

The blond shook his head and flopped down beside Sasuke. "Huh-uh."

"Well… what _can_ you remember?" Sasuke asked, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"I remember you getting punched by a little girl," he sniggered. "And I remember eating a lot of shrimp, though that may have just been a dream…"

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked awkwardly, hopeful but glum.

Naruto scratched his ears and racked his brain for anything he could be missing. "Nope, nothing," he said, though he knew there was something escaping him, just beyond his reach.

Sasuke frowned and practically deflated, no longer sure himself if the events of the previous night had actually taken place; he had been really tired and woozy from blood loss, after all.

After a moment went by in silence, he sighed and went back to reading his book.

He continued to read until he reached the end about half an hour later. Closing the small book, he noticed that Naruto was still there beside him, staring. "What?" he asked, feeling as his face flushed. _Does he remember now?_

"You read that really quickly," Naruto said with his cheek pressed against his fist. "You like reading?" After Sasuke nodded he told him, "There are plenty of books in here if you want. That drawer under my bunk…" He nudged it with his foot. "Is full of 'em. And you can feel free to pick up any book from the piano room to read. We've got all sorts, you know; drama, adventure, romance, mystery. Everything you can think of." He yawned and moved onto his own bunk. "I think I'm going to take a little nap now, but you can take a look."

---

When Sasuke woke from his own nap Naruto had already left the room. Looking out the circular window, he knew that it must have been late afternoon already.

Yawning and stretching, he crawled out of bed, pulled on his boots and exited his cabin.

Only two others were present on deck when he came up through the hatch. Temari and Shino were standing at the railing, conversing about something quietly. Since no one else was around Sasuke strolled over to them and stood there awkwardly for a moment before Temari said, "Hey there."

Sasuke nodded stiffly, feeling extremely small all of a sudden. He kept glancing at Shino's covered eyes while he and Temari continued to speak. He had this odd feeling that the guy was staring at him.

"A storm's coming," he heard Temari say. Shino hummed in agreement.

The brunet looked up at her. "How do you know?"

"Hmm, I'm a sailor; I can feel it in my bones, of course. Plus, dark skies, wind picking up, humidity, you know."

Though he was gawking at the amount of words that had come out of her mouth, since she had never said so much to him before, he soaked up the information even so.

The hatch creaked open behind him and he turned to see that Shikamaru had abandoned his post in the crow's nest.

A drop of cool rain hit his nose as he watched the look-out close the hatch behind him and then turned back to see that Temari and Shino were once again conversing quietly. Quickly leaving their company, he set off after Shikamaru.

A grunt was his signal to come in when he knocked on the door to the older brunet's cabin. Another grunt was his greeting when he walked in the room.

"Hey, Uchiha. Have a seat," Shikamaru said, rummaging around in one of his drawers for a new pack of smokes.

Sasuke plopped himself down beside the bed. "Hey." He paused, fidgeting with his shirt. "Um, what's Naruto like when he gets drunk?"

"What?" Shikamaru went to stand too quickly and hit his head on the edge of his table stand. Hissing from pain, he asked, "Why do you want to know something like that?"

Sasuke gave him a curious look then said, shrugging, "Just wondering…"

Shikamaru raised a brow. "Right. Well, he doesn't get drunk too often. Only when he's really angry or upset, which is a real shame; he can actually be quite intelligent when he's drunk." He cocked a shoulder. "Gives good advice anyway. He's helped out quite a few of us."

Shikamaru was right about that. The previous night Naruto had given him some pretty intelligent advice, not to mention been caring and… Sasuke felt his face flush. "Yeah?"

Shikamaru nodded and sniggered. "Yeah. It's too bad he doesn't remember any of it the next morning." Then he fell back on his bed and lit up a smoke.

"Is that all you came to ask about?" he asked after a moment, looking at the dark-haired boy sitting on the floor. Getting only a small shrug for an answer, and finding it oddly interesting to talk for once, he changed the subject. "Naruto tells me you like to read," he said, between inhales.

"Naruto told you that?" Sasuke asked, turning his head around to look at Shikamaru directly.

Shikamaru nodded. "So, it's true, then?"

He thought about it. "Yeah, I love it," he said, smiling. "I used to spend all my spare time reading. Before you guys found me, I mean. All those times when I was alone and had no one to talk to, I would pick up a book and imagine myself as a part of the story. Especially lately I've used books to escape my pathetic reality," he laughed remorsefully, looking at the dusty floor in front of him, his smile having slipped from his face. "Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing to be, like, a remarkable hero in some fantastic, adventurous tale that's told for millennia?" Sasuke sighed dreamily. "If only…"

Shikamaru sighed as well, but in a more sympathetic manner. "You know, Sasuke," he began slowly, gaining the attention of the other boy. "Everyone is the main character in their own personal story. Though some may hold less adventure than others, and may not necessarily be told to eons, doesn't mean that some stories are more important or exciting than the rest; each and every story is significant to those involved. Don't underestimate your own tale, Sasuke, for although it may seem dull now, it could turn out to be much greater than any you've ever read."

Sasuke nodded but didn't speak, astounded by the words. Instead he sat in silence and watched as Shikamaru took one last inhale before putting out his cigar on a darkened patch of the cabin wall.

When the cigar was out, Shikamaru cleared his throat. "With that said, remember this: stories take time and commitment. And, even then, not all have happy endings."

---

"How're you feeling?" Naruto asked as Sasuke lifted his head up, finished puking.

"Better," Sasuke sighed. "I think my stomach is finally starting to get used to all this sailing stuff. That was only the third time I've thrown up this week, and last time was just because you served me apple pie without me knowing what it was." He grimaced and Naruto laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry," he said. "I had no idea that you didn't like apples."

It had been a week since Sasuke had turned seventeen, or, as Kiba, who always viewed the glass as half empty, liked to say: fifty-one weeks remaining until Sasuke would be seventeen no longer.

As far as his weeks went, it had been pretty decent. Now that he had the majority of the on board books at his mercy, reading had once again become a major pastime. If he wasn't reading, it was because he was busy sifting through the vast amount of the ship's literature.

He and Naruto had continued with what had become their routine over the first two weeks. And though Sasuke was still have minor difficulties feeling entirely comfortable unless Naruto was around, Kakashi had been true to his word, and he was feeling much more at ease with others, especially Shikamaru.

He was opening up to the rest of the crew as well, speaking more, and even giving his opinion on certain things. He still found Shino, by far the hardest to talk to, somewhat frightening, but had even held a conversation with him one morning when it was just the two of them at breakfast. He was making real progress. The only one he was still facing a blank with was Sai, who, he got the feeling, hated him.

But while he was opening up with other people, he felt that his relationship with Naruto, whatever that had been, was diminishing slowly. Although it was still easy for them to get along, with the occasional scuffle, Naruto felt distant. Ever since his birthday.

Sasuke didn't think it was the kiss because, from what he understood, Naruto hadn't remembered that at all. This, of course, was a good thing. It had to be a good thing, as the kiss would only make things extremely awkward between them. It's not like they were going to build a relationship based upon it. Naruto was just using it to prove a point. And he had.

No, Sasuke was sure it was something else. He just didn't know what this something else was.

Damn, that something else was making him feel antsy. It was a mood which Sasuke hadn't felt in a very long time and it was pissing him off. There were a dozen reasons flying through his head as to why Naruto was distant, but none seemed right.

In reality Naruto was being plagued by what Gaara had told him. "Please, Naruto, we're running out of time," the red-head had said. "We need to ask him straight out what's happening with his family. I know he has one; the Uchiha's are infamous for being rich, greedy snobs. However, though they may think that they're better than the rest of the town's people, because, and you've got to hand it to them, in some ways they are, they do still love their family, and I don't think they'd forget Sasuke so easily. So, since you know him best, would you ask him? Just… casually slip in into a conversation. And soon."

He just didn't know how he was supposed to do that. To suddenly bring up the family that had been left practically unmentioned in the three weeks that he had been on board would make for an awkward situation, and Naruto didn't fare well with those. _Just do it!_, he kept telling himself, and he would always begin to before chickening out. _Shit! Man up!_

He looked over at Sasuke, who was slumped over the ship's railing, chin resting in his palm, and cleared his throat. "Hey, Sasuke, are you beginning to feel, uh, homesick, or anything?"

There was a rumble of thunder about a mile away.

"Not really," he replied a little wistfully, now looking up at the darkening sky. "I do miss the town and Sakura and being on solid ground, of course. But out here, there's y-" he broke off, embarrassed about what he was going to say. _Dammit, Sasuke! He doesn__'__t remember! _"What I mean to say is that I don't really have a home or family anymore to miss or anything and-"

"What?" the blond cut in, eyes wide. Fuck! It couldn't be true. Sasuke stared incredulously but didn't say anything. "This is bad," Naruto growled then walked away without another word, leaving Sasuke interrupted and confused.

**TBC**


	7. Hourglass

This may very well be the fastest update you'll ever get from me, so let's all be happy. :D

Thanks once again to my reviewers. You guys keep me going.

I own nothing, now enjoy. :)

**Chapter Seven - Hourglass**

"Are you sure, Naruto?" Gaara was on his feet, pacing his cabin.

"Positive. He said he had no home or family to miss anymore. I would say we're pretty screwed now."

Gaara roared. "Screwed! Ha, we're more than screwed! We may as well begin digging our graves! Unless we can pay up our debt, that damn man will continue to be all over our asses. And we're running out of time! Within weeks, days maybe, he'll be here for the money or our lives! We're right back where we started, and it's doubtful that we'll luck out again this time and find another washed-up rich boy for us to kidnap. Fuck," he breathed. "Fuck! This is what you get when you gamble, Naruto!" He tossed himself into his chair, defeated.

There was a light patter of rain sounding around them as Naruto sighed and took a seat in the nearest chair. He failed to inform his captain that gambling with the Sound had been just as much his idea as it had been his own, but he figured that there was probably a better time for that. Instead he said, "I'm sure we'll come up with the money another way. But now that Sasuke isn't necessary, what will you have done with him?" He didn't want Sasuke to be abandoned on some stray island, or murdered just because his family wasn't alive as Gaara had thought they were. It wasn't his fault. Plus, Naruto's little attraction to Sasuke was growing stronger everyday and he wanted to keep him around to see where it would go.

"FUCK!" Gaara shouted before seemingly losing all strength and slumping even further into his chair so that Naruto could only see the tattooed forehead and shaggy red hair of his captain over the desk.

The sound of rain became heavier and more prominent just as someone thudded at the door. Naruto stood and opened it to reveal Temari and Kakashi, already soaked.

"What's all the yelling about?" Temari asked, stunned at her little brother's language.

"Funny story," Naruto began, scratching absently at his chin. "So it turns out that, uh, Sasuke doesn't have a family. They're dead! Or gone, or something. They're not there anymore. Anyway, no family means no ransom payment, and no payment means no off the hook with Sound, which ultimately means death to us all." He made a gruesome gesture pertaining to throat cutting. "Following? Yeah, so, you know, unless we can find another way to get the money, we're…" He trailed off to hoot and wipe a fake tear from his eye. "It's funny, huh?"

Kakashi shook his head shamefully. "I could have told you that," he mumbled, leaning his back against the wall.

"Ah, this was the one!" Temari cried. "Every other kid we've kidnapped was barely worth a fucking penny! This was the one that was supposed to get us out of debt!" She, too, sighed and fell into a chair.

"Where is the boy?" Gaara asked, staring dazedly at the burgundy rug covering his floor.

"I saw him going down to his cabin when the rain began to fall. Looked a bit green," Kakashi said.

"Hmm… that's- Wait! Did you say 'I could have told you that'? Told me what, exactly?" Gaara asked, scrambling up in his chair, finally snapped out of his stupor.

"That Sasuke was an orphan," Kakashi stated, as if old news.

"Then why didn't you?!"

"You never asked."

"But you knew our reasoning for kidnapping him!" The redhead buried his face into the mass of paper on his desk and whimpered quietly. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now," he said a few moments later, running his fingers through now-dishevelled hair. "We should talk to him, find out all the facts, and then deal with him." He sighed. "Our guest may have overstayed his welcome."

Naruto felt his heart twist into a knot.

---

Neji arrived at Sasuke's room not long after he had started reading an old book he had found under Naruto's bed. "I've been told you're supposed to report to the Captain's quarters with me right away," the doctor stated, an eyebrow raised in irritation.

Sasuke nodded and followed him out of the room.

Walking across the slippery deck had been an amazing feat for Sasuke, who had not yet developed sea legs. He stopped briefly at the door to the captain's cabin, placing a hand against the wall for support. What could the captain want? But before he could knock, Neji raised his fist a pounded lightly on the door, twice. Upon hearing a curt, "Come in!" he entered, and Sasuke followed cautiously.

"Captain?" he asked, noticing he wasn't the only one there. Temari, Kakashi, Sai, Naruto and Kankuro were there also, all on their feet. He supposed Shikamaru was piloting the ship, though that probably wasn't what he should be concerned about at the moment. He frowned at all the forlorn faces.

"Sasuke, it has come to my attention that you're of orphan status. Is this true?" Gaara asked bluntly a couple seconds after the door was securely closed behind him.

The brunet was confused. How did the captain find out and why did he want to know about his family? "Yes, sir," he replied.

"This is not good," Gaara whispered to Temari, who nodded in agreement. Naruto stood in the corner, arms crossed in front of his chest, biting his lip anxiously. Sasuke did the same as Gaara turned back to him.

"We hadn't known that when we took you in," he said, making Sasuke frown harder. Why did it matter whether he was an orphan or not when they had saved his life? "You see, as hurtful as this may feel to you, the reason we saved your life was because Kiba recognized you as an Uchiha. Uchiha's have power and money. We needed that money. You're useless to us without it, boy."

Comprehension hit him like a rampant carriage, and he now fully understood the reason for this meeting. Unexpected tears jumped to the corners of his eyes and he quickly wiped them before they could fall. He stole a quick glance at Naruto, but the blonde was avoiding his eye and instead staring at the bookshelves to his left. "Oh," Sasuke said hoarsely, looking down at his feet.

"I'm sorry, but this is what pirates do." Sasuke looked up at the word pirates. "We kidnap, we steal, we cheat and we murder in order to save ourselves. And this is one of those times; we cannot allow you to spread word of us while we're on the run."

"Right," Sai cut in, smugly. "Since you've no living family, there's really no point in keeping _you_ living either, huh? Not like you have anywhere to go anyway, and we're certainly not keeping you around here; you'd be a waste of cabin space." He seemed to take personal pleasure in that last bit.

Sasuke jerked his head toward Naruto, meeting his bright cerulean eyes, pleading, hope filling his own watery pair. _Naruto, please, do something_, he tried to convey, but Naruto did nothing. His eyes were sad but he remained standing where he was.

"Ah, Sai is correct; you have nowhere to go." Sasuke looked back towards the speaking Captain. "But," Gaara added, a thin smile breaking out on his face, "I wasn't going to make a decision like that. A bit drastic, even for you, isn't it Sai? No, I'm thinking you can stay on board, Sasuke. I've taken a liking to you. And, after all, you're not completely useless; Naruto's been teaching you the ways of a sailor. You'll make a fine Cabin Boy."

"But you said… this was one of those times-"

"What? I didn't mean that I was going to kill you!" Gaara chuckled. "I merely meant that this is one of those times where we kidnapped someone to save our own necks."

"So you're asking me to stay here? With _pirates_?" Sasuke managed to say through the numb fear still racking his body from Sai's words."

"Well, we could always just kill you," Gaara replied, offhandedly, taking a seat behind his desk.

Sasuke was crestfallen. He had been raised to hate pirates, and he knew that the reason for that was because everything Gaara had said was true; they would kill him if need be. That meant it was either stay or be killed. "I'll stay," he mumbled, thankful to still be alive.

---

The crew left the cabin with mixed feelings. For the most part, they were content with what Gaara had decided to do with Sasuke, but they were still widely concerned about their lack of money. Temari in particular didn't seem to be overly happy about Sasuke's staying if only for the fact that she was immersed in thoughts about how much simpler it would have been if they had never picked him up to begin with and had instead kidnapped a few kids from some other island.

And Sai, well, he was nothing but furious that Sasuke hadn't been, at the least, kicked off the ship.

Sasuke had been unable to read Naruto's expression as the blond was leaving the Captain's room. It looked a mix of confused and relieved, but mostly just thoughtful. If Sasuke hadn't been so distraught he might have smirked at the out-of-place expression.

"Well," Gaara said when the others had gone. Sasuke had been asked to stick around.

The only sounds in the room for several moments were those of the ship creaking and that of the dying winds. The storm had almost passed.

"I apologize for this," the captain said at last, genuinely sorry about the circumstances. "I don't believe you would, but I can't risk bringing you home and allowing you freedom to spread around that we're in this area. It's just that the Sound can't know where we are if we don't have the money. I assure you we're not bad people, and we won't hurt you. Unless you're to atone for something; you are part of the crew now, so to speak. But as a part of the crew I'm also offering you a home, since I can only assume you don't have one, and I am also offering you protection. This crew is a family and we stick together."

Sasuke was listening, trying to register, but he was still shaken up and he was having mixed feelings. He was glad to have been saved and to finally have a place to call home. But did he really want a home with them? After all, Gaara had called his crew pirates. But were they really? They didn't appear to be like any Sasuke had ever been told about or even read about. They had been courteous to him thus far; should he trust them?

"I know I've said this before," Gaara said, breaking Sasuke from thought, "But welcome aboard The Shuriken, Mr. Uchiha."

This was it, his life was over.

---

Naruto was playing with some loose strands on his shirt when Kakashi welcomed himself into the cabin and sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed. He didn't say anything, but he knew Naruto wanted to.

"How'd you know?" the blond finally asked the older man, after several moments of silence. "That Sasuke wasn't going to get us any money, I mean."

He scoffed haughtily, crossing his arms. "I can read that boy like an open book."

"Well, then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I could see how much you liked him," Kakashi laughed. "I can read you like a book too."

"Hmm, and what else are these books telling you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes deviously.

"Well, for one," Kakashi began, completely unfazed by Naruto's sudden change in mood, "Sasuke's nervous about what Naruto thinks of him and is worried, upset and thrilled at the same time that he may have forgotten the kiss they had on the night of his birthday. He's also extremely distressed, angry and confused by today's events and wishes Naruto was there with him." He paused to read Naruto's reaction. The blond's eyes had widened extraordinarily.

"Naruto, on the other hand, is now remembering the night of Sasuke's birthday, and wishing he hadn't done what he did. But he's also thrilled that Sasuke enjoyed it and is missing his company. He wants to go to Sasuke, but knows that he's safe in the hands of the Captain, and so he won't, and instead he'll sit and gawk at Kakashi," he finished.

Naruto was indeed gawking. "Please don't ever do that again," he implored, lying down on his bed, signalling Kakashi to leave once more. His work was done.

---

The sky was dark when Naruto woke from the nap he didn't know he had taken. He looked to the bed across from his and saw Sasuke there, sound asleep. He smiled, happy to see Sasuke there, and to know that he would remain there. He was really glad that Sasuke safe and wasn't going to be anywhere but there with him, even if that meant that he wasn't going to be brought home.

He wondered vaguely if Sasuke was going to miss that friend back home.

…

_Shit._

---

"This is a good time to bring this up," Gaara chuckled sarcastically.

"Well, I don't know! I thought you were seriously thinking about killing him or abandoning him or something for a moment there and I wasn't really thinking clearly on the details."

"Naruto, you rarely think. But that's beside the point." His face went serious; it was back to business. "So there's a girl, huh?"

"Yeah, Sakura something or other. Sasuke's mentioned her a couple times but I never thought much of it. You know, I thought she was just another friend he had from that beautiful, wealthy life he was living. But since it turns out that he doesn't have a life _quite_ as I expected, I'm wondering if the same goes for her too."

Gaara nodded. "It's also strange that she hasn't informed anyone of his absence."

"Just what I was thinking," Naruto agreed.

"Perhaps we should drop by Trueno and give this girl a visit," Gaara suggested. "She may have exactly what we need."

Naruto thought about it. If they were to bring Sasuke near the town he called home, would he wish to stay? And if he did, would Gaara crack and allow him to? Naruto didn't want Sasuke to stay. But would it be fair to not allow him to? The captain did say when they first brought the boy on board that once they had the money, Sasuke would be free to go.

Of course, should they be expecting this girl to have money at all? Maybe she was in the same situation as Sasuke, without a family. But there was always that chance. They didn't know who she was at all.

Ah, that's what Gaara wanted to find out. By going to talk to her! Right!

But couldn't they just ask Sasuke who she was? Then again, there was always that chance that he would lie to them. It's not like his current predicament would make him any fonder for giving information about his friends to a group of pirates.

Was she really a friend though? Wouldn't a friend have reported his disappearance? It probably meant that she didn't miss Sasuke at all, and that he would be free to remain with Naruto. He was liking that thought.

And maybe she would have money to give them! Maybe she'd even help them willingly to make them leave her alone. Or maybe because she really did miss Sasuke and then he could stay with her.

But, wait, that took him back to… Oh, forget it.

Thinking too deeply really wasn't his thing.

"Sounds like a plan," he finally said.

**TBC**


	8. Remorse

I apologise profusely for how long it took me to get this out. Life has been busy, and I've been extremely distracted. But it's here now, and I hope it's enough to satisfy.

Thanks for the awesome reviews I received!

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Eight - Remorse**

Sasuke didn't know how to answer when Kankuro asked, "How're you feeling?" at breakfast four days later.

He was glad, in a way, that he finally had somewhere to call home, even if it was a ship and his stomach and legs hadn't yet gotten completely used to the sea. But he was still furious that it had been pirates that found him, and the only reason they had taken him in- kidnapped him- was because they wanted his money. They hadn't actually cared about him; Gaara had said it himself.

Knowing this made him more furious, and yet, despite this anger, he still wanted to stay with them. He had made friends; they were growing on him, and he was growing on them as well, right? They couldn't possibly be all bad.

He hadn't spoken to Naruto in the last few days. In fact, he was just about the only person he hadn't spoken to. Though he had retreated back into his shell considerably since finding out these people were pirates, he was still conversing with them at meals or when they would ask him a question.

It wasn't as though Sasuke didn't want to talk to Naruto; it was just that he hadn't been around lately. Every morning when he woke, the blond would already be gone, and every night when he went to bed, Naruto was nowhere to be found. It seemed like he was never even in the room anymore, and maybe he wasn't.

Sasuke got the feeling he was being avoided. There had been only one time when it appeared that Naruto was coming over to speak with him, but six feet away the blond turned on his heel and walked off in another direction.

He was missing the times they had spent together. He felt betrayed; did the reason for Naruto's absence have anything to do with not actually ever liking him? Had it all been only a charade that was going to be continued until Sasuke was dumped back home? Did the blond not want anything to do with him anymore?

If that were true, would Naruto have ever kissed him? Wasn't that taking it unnecessarily far?

He could understand why Naruto couldn't tell him, if it happened to be true. He couldn't blow their big fucking secret, after all. But he could have been less friendly, and spent less time with him, and not made it so he would miss him so damn much when he wasn't around.

Maybe he was beginning to develop some deeper feelings for the idiot, but he couldn't dwell on the thought too much until he knew the truth. This feeling could just be leading him to a big heartbreak.

When Sasuke finally broke from his reverie to answer Kankuro, he saw that he was already gone.

---

As the ship's new cabin boy, it was now Sasuke's job to run errands. Gaara had told him that he understood it felt unfair to be thrown into work after never having done it, but he had to earn his keep as long as he wished to stay with them. Even after everything that had happened in the past few days, Sasuke still felt a strange sense of trust towards the crew, and he had agreed.

And so he had been helping out with things he had barely, if ever, done in the past. One morning he helped Chouji prepare lunch, and often in the evenings he would take notes for Temari. He had spent an entire afternoon with Shikamaru in the crow's nest (though it had taken a while to convince him to go up) and it had been one of the most relaxing days so far. The previous day he had even tried his best to help Shino and Kiba with raising the main sail; and he had been doing just fine until Sai had shown up and laughed at his "pathetic attempt at being a sailor."

He had spent some time with Kakashi as well, but had yet to find out what the man actually did on board. From what Sasuke saw, all Kakashi did was lounge and read his dirty novels while letting everyone else do the work. And though this would make it seem that any time spent with Kakashi would be as relaxing as that spent with Shikamaru, it was not. While in Kakashi's presence Sasuke always felt that his innermost thoughts were being spread out in front of the man for him to see freely, and this made him feel very uneasy.

As the days rolled on, Sasuke found that he was losing his resolve to uphold even the poor job he was doing before. With thoughts of Naruto hovering over him constantly, he felt that his will may have well been thrown up over the side of the ship along with his supper.

---

Shino, Kiba and Akamaru waltzed into the piano room that evening to find Naruto seated on the ebony bench, fingers moving quickly across keys.

"Just who we were looking for!" Kiba shouted. "The ol' Cap'n was wondering where you had gotten off to; you haven't been to meals lately."

"Hmm," Naruto agreed, and continued playing. "I've been waiting until Sasuke's finished."

Kiba gave a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, we noticed." Akamaru woofed.

"Why is that, Naruto?" Shino asked.

"I… I don't know. Just upset, I guess." He sighed, and banged his fingers on the keys, effectively finishing his piece.

"What are you so upset about?!" Kiba barked. "Sasuke's one of us now! He's not being ransomed and he's not being killed! He's staying right here and you can be with him now! …Assuming he likes you of course," he added as an afterthought.

"I thought about that but- nah. I'm terrible with relationships. You know what I mean; they all end in disaster."

"Naruto, maybe you've just have bad luck with all your relationships thus far," Shino suggested calmly after a moment. "Perhaps it's time to try again."

"Bah!" Naruto scowled.

Another few edgy moments passed in silence. Then Kiba spoke up again. "Really, what's eatin' you?" Akamaru yapped from beside, wagging his tail back and forth expectantly.

Naruto sighed, defeated. "It's just… it was me who told Gaara about Sasuke, right? And look at what happened! I mean, he was practically crying! He really thought he was going to die for a minute there. Hell, I thought so too, what with how angry Gaara had been when I first broke the news!" he shouted. "And _damn_ that Sai for trying to convince Gaara to get rid of him! What the hell is wrong with that guy lately?" He growled, exasperated.

"So you're actually feeling guilty," Shino stated an instant later.

"No!" the blond huffed, crossing his arms defensively. "Well, yeah, maybe a bit. It was me who brought up the situation, after all. And I know that Gaara's just keeping Sasuke around for my sake; and he'll let him go if we get the ransom money. Gaara's a good guy at heart, and he plays by the rules. Besides, he knows that Sasuke wouldn't tell a soul about us if we didn't want him to. But, he's keeping him around… because he knows that I'm happy he's staying with us. And I really am, but…"

"But…?" Kiba pushed.

"I'm feeling really sceptical, you know? I just don't know what to say to him. I would love to tell him how much he means to me and how happy I am that he's here. That I remember! But every time I think I know exactly what I'm going to say, I change my mind, unsatisfied. Sasuke must be so pissed. Gah; I'm such a coward!"

"You should just tell him the truth," Shino instructed. "Don't think about it too much. Just do it."

"What? Are you insane?" Kiba yelled, wide-eyed and flapping his arms. "That's suicide! And way too soon in this non-relationship! Uh, we don't even know how Sasuke's views Naruto. Remember that, bug brain?"

"No, he's right," Naruto sighed. "I should. But it's just… going to be a really hard story to tell."

---

Just before sunset Naruto found Sasuke on the quarterdeck, scrolling down notes for Kankuro.

"Hey, can I, uh, can I talk to you for a bit? Over there."

Sasuke looked up at him, unfazed, from his note writing, but only for a moment before rolling his eyes and looking down again.

Naruto growled lowly. "Seriously, you stubborn bastard, I need to talk to you," he said more firmly.

This time when Sasuke glanced up he was looking more disgruntled. "Fine," he breathed. He set the notes down beside the wheel before muttering a quick, "I'll be back soon," to the ship's pilot.

The two boys walked to the bow of the ship, where Naruto sat ungracefully against the wooden railings. Sasuke stood for a moment before joining him, with much more poise. "So, what do you want to talk to me about, Naruto?"

When Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke spoke again. "You're a pirate. Why didn't you say anything about that?"

"I didn't think it mattered that much," Naruto answered truthfully.

"Well, it did," Sasuke spat.

"I can see that, thanks," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "But we're different than others, you know; I wouldn't even call us pirates, really. Just sailors that enjoy partaking in the occasional pirate activity."

He turned to watch the sun dwindle at the horizon, and was brought back to the day when he and Sasuke had met, when Sasuke had asked when they were bringing him home. The air had been pregnant with tension that evening, not unlike how it was now. The only difference was that now both parties were plagued with remorse and confusion.

"…I thought we had gotten close, Naruto," Sasuke broke through his musings. "I… thought you were my friend."

"I was. I am!" the blond said sadly. "I just…"

"Why won't you let me go then? It's not that I don't appreciate this job and everything you've done for me, but staying here goes against everything my parents told me about pirates."

"I can't do that, Sasuke, I-"

"Then you are exactly like all the rest of them!" Sasuke cried before Naruto could finish. "Taking hostages, forcing people in slavery, raping, murdering! Piracy!"

"Whoa! What you're doing for us isn't _slavery_, it's a _job_, just as you said," Naruto hissed, now angry. "A payment for these past few weeks and however long you continue to stay with us. And for the record, not a single one of us has ever _raped_ a person. So don't go making fucking assumptions!" he finished, making Sasuke flinch slightly.

However, gaining back some resolve, the brunet muttered, "But you've murdered…?" He left the sentence hanging, wishing beyond hope that it wasn't true, but Naruto failed to deny, remaining stone silent. Sasuke gasped silently. "Yeah. I thought so," he whispered vehemently.

"You don't know," the blond said quietly, in a steadier voice than before.

"Then why don't you go ahead and tell me?"

Once again Naruto remained silent.

"Fine," Sasuke stated. He stood and marched off, returning to Kankuro's side. Naruto remained where he was, thinking things over. Where had he gone wrong?

---

The sky the next morning was clear and blue. The wind was strong but not overbearing, pushing them along in the direction they wanted to go. It was a beautiful day for sailing.

After Sasuke had left Naruto alone on the deck the previous evening, he grabbed his notes from beside the wheel and continued with his work. By the time he had finished he was angry and tired and had gone to bed without dinner, which he was now regretting. Dry heaves were a hundred times worse than puking, only made worse by his uncontrolled sobbing.

He stood over the wooden railing, facing the rushing waves below. Watching the bubbling water around the edges of The Shuriken was helping his stomach settle, though not as much as a nice back rub would have done.

Stomach content for the moment, he sighed and wiped sweat from his forehead.

The brunet was just wishing that he could see Sakura again when he looked up from the raving waves to see a land mass ahead. _What? Is that__…__?_ It was; Trueno, the very same town that the crew had found Sasuke, the same town he had grown up in, and the same town in which Sakura was waiting for him. But could this really be…?

He wiped away the few tears that had gathered on his face during his heaving, and practically ran up to Kankuro. "What are we doing?"

"Following orders," was the man's wearisome reply, but Sasuke could see the smile in his eyes.

He was going home.

**TBC**


	9. Reunion

Again, a big thanks to those who took the time to review!

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Nine - Reunion**

Sasuke pushed himself away from the railing and dashed off to find Naruto.

He found him in their cabin, lounging on his bunk, arms under his head and his eyes closed.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called, breathless.

Naruto pealed open his eyes and groaned. "Sorry. I'll be leaving, I guess."

"What?" Sasuke questioned, eyebrows furrowing. "No, I just came to ask you if you're taking me home; I can see Trueno in the distance and I don't know why else we would be back here."

The blond man raised a brow. "And you couldn't just ask Kankuro?"

"I didn't think about that…" He said, flushing and kicking himself for not thinking and immediately rushing to Naruto.

Naruto pushed himself into a sitting position and locked eyes with the onyx-eyed boy. "We're not taking you home, Sasuke," he said seriously.

"But I saw-"

"Yes, you saw. We are returning to Trueno, but not to drop you off." He broke the eye contact. "We're here to speak to your friend. Sakura was her name?"

Sasuke's world spun. No. They were not going to get her involved. He had misunderstood. "What? No!"

"We're on our way to negotiate with Sakura. We still need money, and we still have you. But you don't have to worry," he added quickly, noticing he was about to be interrupted. "We're not going to hurt her. Or you. If she can pay, I think Gaara will probably let you stay home. You'll never have to see us again." Something tugged at his heart. "If she can't pay, I'm not sure what's going to happen, but you'll be safe. I promise."

Sasuke looked at the floor and nodded, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change the situation. He would just have to trust Naruto's word.

---

They made landing at a small recess about half a mile south of Trueno. They wanted to be safe, make sure that they wouldn't be sighted.

Gaara had made a point of gathering the entire crew together on the deck to make a speech, highlighting the details of their stop. "Neji will accompany Sasuke into town. I would go personally, but I would be too easily recognizable with the reputation I've created for myself. Besides, Neji's the perfect candidate with that brilliant sight of his. There, they will search for the girl and bring her back here. Naruto, Kakashi and Sai will cover the north, west and south sides of the town in the event that she leaves. To the east is nothing but ocean, so I think we're covered there.

"Kankuro is to make a quick getaway if there is any sign of peril. Anyone left behind will have to face the consequences. So try not to take too long, alright?" He turned to face Sasuke. "Alright, what does this girl look like?"

Twenty minutes had passed and now Sasuke found himself bounding across the rocky hillsides surrounding the town he had come to know so well over his life. He jogged through the dew-covered grass to catch up with Neji's long strides, watching the quiet town below.

Looking at it from this perspective, coming over terrain that he had never before trekked, he felt a trifling sense of nostalgia, small and mostly overwhelmed by the feeling that he didn't fit in anymore. He was part of a different world now, and the town was changed; it seemed smaller somehow, and more sheltered from the outside than he had ever realised.

Entering the town also felt odd. He had thought that he would be thankful to be back, but it was quite the opposite.

Sasuke never went out much in the day; there were people in the town besides Sakura's parents that had falsely accused him, and so it was much safer for him to travel at night. Now, with the morning sun shining dimly to the east, tinting the cobblestone in an unfamiliar yellow hue, all he wanted to do was find Sakura and get the hell out of there.

They moved quickly, but not too much so; they didn't want to draw unnecessary attention.

Neji hadn't said a word all morning and startled Sasuke when he finally asked, "Where should we expect her to be right now?"

"Um, probably at home. But I can't just show up there. Her parents hate me."

Neji nodded but said, "Take me there. I'll speak." Sasuke did as he was told and led the man towards his good friend's home. Neji was standing on her doorstep minutes later, with Sasuke just around the corner, listening and waiting impatiently.

The doctor lifted the heavy brass knocker and hit it against the black door twice. It opened after some shuffling inside. "Can I help you?" the one who answered the door asked. He was a tall man, pale and callous, with green eyes similar to Sakura's.

"Good morning, sir." Neji smiled sweetly. "My name is Ayame. I am a fellow student at your daughter's school. It's a pleasure to finally meet; Sakura speaks so fondly of you." He took the man's hand in his own and shook it firmly. "If it would not be too troublesome for you, I have come to ask if she would like to get a cup of tea with me."

The man stared blankly at Neji, looking him up and down for a few agonizing moments, before nodding and returning into his home silently. He appeared again an instant later with a teenage girl in tow. Pushing her out, he muttered a quick, "Have fun," before slamming the door securely behind him.

Sakura stood in front of Neji, sporting a long red dress, uncombed hair and a raised eyebrow. Before she could say a word, he took her hand in his and led her around the corner, where she came face to face with Sasuke.

She looked first confused and then ecstatic, but only for a brief instant. Her face feel, beaming smile replaced by a scowl, and Sasuke got a harsh punch in the shoulder that sent him staggering. "Bastard!"

"Sakura…"

"No! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? I thought you might be lost or dead or worse and I couldn't do a thing about it! You just up and disappear one night without explanation and then you show up back here, looking perfectly fine, and expect me to be fucking okay with this? Sorry, but no. You deserved that punch. In fact, here's another one." True to her word, he was sent staggering once again.

"Sakura!"

"What?" she sighed, exasperated.

"I have to talk to you," Sasuke said softly, rubbing his sore shoulder and wincing.

She narrowed her eyes and gritted, "You are talking."

"No," he insisted, glancing at Neji, "Not here. Come."

Though she was wary of the stranger that had come with Sasuke, she followed him nonetheless. She wanted to know what idiot reason Sasuke had behind his disappearance and whether she should forgive him or not.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as they exited the town, and even more so when, soon after their exit, three more men showed up. She unconsciously moved closer to Sasuke, eyeing the men.

Not a one of them spoke, not even the first, who had pulled her from her doorstep over ten minutes earlier. Even Sasuke was being quieter than usual, and for him that was a hard feat to overcome.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked as they were passing though a small dip in the earth. The silence had been unnerving.

Sasuke glanced over at her, but quickly looked away without a word.

As they reached the top of the hill, one of the men finally spoke. "We're here," he said, pointing down the steep slope that met rocky shores at the bottom.

Sakura gasped. Moored in hidden island alcove was a brilliant ship; crafted with expertise from a fine redwood, with sails the colour of coal, it was large and daunting, yet beautiful in its delicate detail. Having always been fascinated with ships, she had seen and been on a good many, but this was one of the most stunning yet.

On the land conversing, assembling around the bow of the ship, was a group of even more men; about five of them, and a large white dog.

"Sasuke…" she breathed. "Who are these people?" When he didn't answer she jerked her head to look at him. "They're not doing anything to you, are they? Sasuke, tell me what's going on."

"I'm fine," he sighed, but she still looked concerned.

Once they reached the bottom of the hill he left her side to speak with the group of men. She remained beside the man who had spoken with her father until Sasuke came back to her and brought her forward.

"This is Sakura. She's been allowing me to live in her basement for almost seven years. She's-"

"The loveliest woman I've ever laid my eyes upon." Lee pushed past the others and took Sakura's hand in his own before leaning forward and placing a kiss onto the pale flesh. "'Tis my pleasure, young miss," he said.

Sakura's mouth had dropped open and her eyebrows had almost vanished under her hair, but she smiled humbly and muttered a quick, "Thanks," before pulling her hand away.

Lee grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up. "No need, miss," he declared before returning to the side of Kiba.

Sakura watched as a red-haired man stepped forward. He was wearing a look of authority on his face and clothing more complex than the others. She believed him to be Captain. When he spoke his voice was clear and powerful, if not a little weary. "Haruno Sakura? My name is Sabaku no Gaara, Captain of The Shuriken." He motioned behind him to the ship. "We have come here today on important business. Come; let us speak somewhere more comfortable."

---

Sakura had followed the redhead onto the ship and into what she assumed to be the Captain's quarters, with Sasuke and the three men who had joined them on their way out of town following closely behind her.

There the captain had filled her in on the past month's events, putting emphasis on parts to make sure she understood that they meant no harm to either her or Sasuke.

"I want it to be known that if you cannot afford to help us, we will accept that and leave you be, but-"

"I can help."

Gaara stopped speaking and looked at her blankly, obviously not expecting her to offer. "Sorry?"

"I said that I can help. I don't have much, but of course I'll help the men that saved Sasuke's life. Let me repay you."

The pale, dark-haired man in the room scoffed melodramatically and the blond remained silent. However, the white-haired man stood then and said, smiling, "That's excellent! Let's pop open some rum to celebrate."

The captain smiled and bowed his head in thanks and she smiled warmly in return.

---

A couple hours later they were gathered in the Captain's room once again. Sakura was counting out coins on the desk.

"I apologize. I don't know if this covers what you need, but it's all that was in the safe. I don't think I can get anymore," she said upon finishing and looking at the captain standing adjacent to her.

"That's quite all right. You've helped us more than we can possibly repay you for," the man said earnestly, leading her out onto the deck, followed by the others. "But we can begin by letting Sasuke stay here with you. We've gotten what we wanted."

Sakura froze, Sasuke's mouth dropped, and the blond gasped, troubled.

"But I thought you said that you couldn't trust him knowing your location," the dark-haired man argued.

"If that were completely true, than I would have no choice but to leave with her on board as well," he reasoned. "I think I can trust you both well enough," he said, turning back to them. "As long as you wish to stay, Sasuke."

Sasuke took a long, hard look at Naruto, whose usual bright blues were filled with a deep sadness. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, knowing things between he and the blond were never going to happen.

Gaara nodded as well. "And so I give my sincerest thanks and apologies to you both. Now we can all move on; we have our money, and Sasuke is safe at home. I hope, Sasuke, that one day you'll be able to forgive our ransoming you. Good luck."

As Sakura and Sasuke said goodbye to the crew, who were all gathered on the beach, Naruto trudged over to Gaara, hissing, "You're allowing him to stay?!"

Gaara gave him a sympathetic look. "Naruto, forcing him to come with us isn't going to make things better for anyone. If he wishes to stay here then we should respect that. If you really care about him, you'll let him go."

Naruto scowled stubbornly but said nothing more, watching as Sasuke walked with Sakura up the grassy hill and out of his life.

**TBC**


	10. Bonds

Wow, sorry for how cheesy this turned out. :O

Thanks, reviewers!

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Ten - Bonds**

"I think that you're making a really bad decision, Sasuke," she told him as they walked away from what had been his home for the past month. The light wind was blowing through her hair peacefully, but she was distraught inside.

"Why?" he asked, frowning. "The captain told me to stay; I should respect his wishes." He kicked a rock clumsily.

Sakura scoffed. "Right, because you're so okay with that."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean? You think I want to stay on that thing? With the seasickness and the drunken crew and the annoying idiot and _Sai_?"

"I don't think you want to stay here," she said.

Sasuke nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I do. I'm finally old enough to be hired at that shop I visit all the time, and I still have time to snag the position before someone else has. That Bernie had his fat eyes on it too, but his birthday isn't for another couple of months. …I'm looking forward to it," he added.

She sighed and gave him a knowing look. "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at him. The blond man, Naruto?" Sasuke glanced over at her, brow furrowed. "And he looks at you the same way; I could practically see the heartbreak in his eyes when you said you wanted to stay. Sasuke, don't let me or some stupid job be the reason for missing out on something good. I only want to see you happy. It's been so long."

Naruto moaned miserably and slid down the wall, flopping inelegantly onto the cabin floor.

"I hate seeing you like this," Kiba voiced forlornly. "Come on, Naruto. Look on the bright side: it's probably better this way, without him here to distract you. You weren't even sure he liked you anyway; he was probably a lost cause, right? Come on, get up. We're getting ready to leave. We probably won't be seeing land again for weeks, at least get one last look."

The blond raised his head enough from the floor to give the other man a hard glare before letting it hit the floor once again with a heavy thunk.

Kiba frowned but left the room without another word, knowing there was no way to get through to his friend just yet.

Walking onto deck and into the evening sunshine, he saw Neji and Kakashi raising the main sail in preparation for dispatch into open sea. Gaara and Shino were standing knee deep in water below, ready to push the vessel if need be. Shikamaru was in the crows nest, overlooking everything and shouting directions to Kankuro below.

Within moments The Shuriken was sliding smoothly out into the ocean. Kiba's brow furrowed as he said a final silent goodbye to Sasuke.

Having just climbed the rope and returned to the ship, Shino joined him at the edge of the deck. "Feels a bit anticlimactic," he said quietly.

"You're telling me," Kiba laughed sarcastically.

They stood in silence, watching the island get smaller by the second. "There are people on the shore," Shino stated, breaking the silence after only a few moments. "Look."

"Where? Oh. Oh! People! Wait, Kankuro, stop!" He ran to the other side of the ship and, after a moment of eager pushing, he managed to get the anchor over the rail and toss it into the sea below. They were still relatively close to the shore and the anchor hit bottom within seconds.

Kiba turned to see Temari storming over. "What the hell are you doing, Inuzuka?"

"What's it look like?" Kiba asked, then, upon seeing her angry scowl, quickly added with a grin, "I'm waiting for Sasuke!"

Temari jerked her head around to see the shore. Kiba was not lying; there he was, standing with Sakura on the brink of the water. A small smile appeared on her face. "Fetch Naruto. I'll ready the lifeboat."

Naruto hadn't believed Kiba when the brunet had first barged into the room shouting that Sasuke was waiting for them on the beach, especially since he had been trying to make him feel better since they had set sail. Then he gathered that joking about something like this was most definitely not going to make him feel better, and even the thickhead Kiba knew that. With that realization, he leapt up from his miserable demise and followed the doglike man out to Temari, who had already lowered the small lifeboat into the foamy sea with help from Gaara.

Quick as he could, the blond man swung himself down into the boat and squinted towards the shore, where he could see the two figures watching them. His heart melted a little at knowing Sasuke was there waiting there for him, but he still had the nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

Gaara landed beside Naruto and Lee beside him, as he called up to Temari, "Fill in Kankuro on the situation. We should be back soon."

The row to shore was agonising; Naruto was dying to speak with Sasuke, since they hadn't even been able to say a proper goodbye. However, his damn arms weren't able to paddle any quicker.

But it was all worth it the second they touched ground.

Sasuke started over slowly, hesitantly, but didn't make it far before Naruto reached out and tugged him into his arms, where they held eachother tightly. "I'm coming with you," he whispered happily into the embrace.

"I'm glad," Naruto smiled back, with his cheek pressed against Sasuke's forehead.

Sakura stood nearby, waiting patiently to say goodbye. When they broke apart no mere moments later, Naruto took her in his arms too, surprising her. "I know it was you who convinced him, and I don't know what you said to do it, but thanks."

She smiled as they broke apart.

"Goodbye, Sasuke," she said, turning to him and pulling him into a hug. "I'll miss you. Truly, deeply, I will. Good luck to you. All of you," she added, pulling away from Sasuke and glancing at Gaara and Lee who stood nearby.

"Farewell, good miss. It's been a pleasure like no other to have met you today. I shall never forget," Lee said, kissing her hand once more.

Gaara grimaced sadly at the bittersweet farewells, arguing with himself. After a short battle in which he won, he stepped forward. "Miss Haruno, if you would like," he began, clearing his throat, "You can feel free to come with us."

Though Naruto's smile faltered for a second, he announced, "That's great!"

Sakura's smile also faltered. "Really?" she asked timidly.

"Why not?" Gaara said, throwing his arms out and shrugging; it had been a strange day. "You mentioned your love for ships, and you look like a decent sailor. Besides, we could always use another deckhand."

She took a quick glance at Sasuke, and he at her, before her smile reappeared and she exclaimed, "Why the hell not? It's about time for me to be spontaneous."

Sasuke looked at her concernedly. "You're going to come with us? But what about your family?"

Sakura sighed, a grim look had taken over her expression. "Let's be honest. All that my father has ever cared about is his image; he's never cared about me. I'm sure that with me gone, it'll just be easier for him to build his business and status. I'm not going to miss him, and he's not going to miss me." She winced at this. "As for my mother, she's been drinking so much as of late that I doubt she even remembers who I am let alone that I'm no longer around. There's nothing to lose and everything to gain." She smiled lopsidedly. "Besides, they're going to be _so_ pissed when they see that the safe money is missing."

Sasuke nodded but said nothing.

"So it's decided! Let's depart," Gaara said, clapping his hands together and leading them all back to the lifeboat.

Once they were all standing safely upon the deck of The Shuriken once again Gaara called a meeting to catch everyone up on the day's events. Thanks to Sakura, their newest crew member, they had gathered most of their debt, but they still had quite a ways to go.

He then started the short introductions for the people she hadn't yet met. "This is Temari, my sister, and second in command," Gaara told Sakura. "You can stay with her in her cabin below; Kankuro can sleep in my room for a while until things get settled and we figure things out. That alright, Temari?"

She was staring at him blankly. "Another woman on board? Yeah, that's… awesome. I don't feel threatened. Not at all." She said the last three words while walking away stiffly.

The rest of the introductions were made and Sakura followed Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto to the hold on the ship. As the rest of the crew scattered, Shino moved closer to Kiba. "Now this feels better," he said.

"Hmm, much more like the closure I needed." He looked up at the newly born moon and smirked. "It's been one hell of a day."

The next morning when Naruto walked into the saloon for an extremely late breakfast he found Sakura alone at the table munching on some toast.

"Morning. How're you adjusting?" he asked, taking a seat beside her and piling some eggs onto his plate.

"Great, actually. Everyone has introduced themselves and they've all been really nice, Chouji and Lee especially. That Sai guy has been a little weird, but I think he has good intentions. Oh, and Temari lent me some of her clothes." She leaned back to make a point about not sporting the long red dress anymore, but rather a white cotton shirt, light purple vest and brown trousers like Naruto's own pair, along with a red bandana tied across her head to hold her hair back.

"That's good to hear," he said, grinning and nodding. "You know, you're adjusting a lot easier than Sasuke did. I still don't think he's quite adjusted yet."

She giggled. "Well, that's Sasuke for you. He's not really the social type and probably never will be. But don't worry, soon enough he'll be bounding around like he owns the place. Maybe. Bounding may be a strong word to describe Sasuke walking on a ship. Where is he, by the way?"

"Sleeping still. Does that a lot. I'm always up before him, and he's usually in bed before me too. And he spends all of his free time in our cabin, too. Reading." He took a slice of toast and shoved it into his mouth.

"Sleeping or reading; always in dreamland. That's so like him." She smiled nostalgically and took a strawberry off the plate in front of her. "I've missed him."

"Mmm," he said, swallowing. "Hey, Sakura. I never got to properly thank you for convincing Sasuke to stay with us yesterday. I actually thought I was never going to see him again. I think so anyway; yesterday is a bit of an emotional blur."

She shook her head. "It's fine. It's actually me who should be thanking you. You saved his life, in more than one way, Naruto. He seems like a completely different person around you, full of new spirit and heart. All I had to do was simply remind him of how life used to be and he was running back towards the ship in a second." She paused. "You guys are really close, huh?"

Naruto seemed to shrink in his seat. "Kakashi told me that we were, but lately I've had this nagging feeling that it's not true. I feel like he wants nothing to do with me, really."

Sakura turned in her seat to look at him face to face, looking quite serious.

"You know, when we were young, Sasuke and me, I used to have the hugest crush on him," she started with no forewarning. Naruto put down his fork, confused but willing to listen.

"I used to follow him around and tell him that I loved him and wanted to marry him one day, but he would always tell me that he wasn't interested; he liked me as a friend and a friend only. And I wasn't the only one to throw myself at him. Girls from all over the town would show up at his house at all hours of the day to confess their undying love for him, which was silly really, now that I think about it. I mean, how much do eight year olds really know about love anyway?" She rolled her eyes and continued.

"Well, anyway, he would always tell them that he wasn't interested, he didn't like them that way, he only wanted to be friends. Seemed to me that he never liked anyone that way. Nothing interested him. Nothing. Even while he was living in my basement and the cloud of girls had evaporated, he would rarely open up to me about what he liked. He could rant for hours about all the things he disliked, but he would keep mostly quiet about his interests." She paused again, and brought her hand to Naruto's cheek. "But, Naruto, I've seen the way he looks at you. And it's the same look he used to get when he would tell me about a thrilling, passionate quest that he had just read about. It's a look of admiration, of faith. I know Sasuke has troubles with opening up and showing his emotions, especially when he's confused, but you can see it in his eyes, Naruto. You have nothing to worry about; it'll happen for you."

Naruto nodded.

**TBC**


	11. Tranquility

Thank you, my reviewers! You guys are great!

This chapter is mostly filler and kind of short. But still, I hope you enjoy. :)

**Chapter Eleven - Tranquility**

Just as Sakura had told him, things got much better between Naruto and Sasuke over the next few days. Apparently she had also been correct about the brunet being closed off when he was confused. And about the fact that Sasuke could rant for hours about things he disliked.

"I mean, Sakura's newer to the ship than I am, the captain barely knows her, and yet her position on the ship is of higher status. What's that all about? Sure, she's been on a few other ships in her life, but still! I feel cheated," he had whined about for almost an hour the previous day.

Sakura had been part of the crew for five days, over which Naruto had discovered that she was really clever, extremely helpful and very kind, not to mention incredibly hot.

He liked her a lot.

But he liked Sasuke a lot more, and was more than delighted when the tension between them dissipated. They had almost reverted back to their old routine of eating meals and practicing piano together. Naruto couldn't be happier.

Well, he could, but he wouldn't push too much on that subject; Sasuke had been really touchy about it. Every time Naruto even tried to take his hand in his own, Sasuke would pull away roughly and whisper a harsh "Naruto!" But the blond was working on it.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked, flopping down beside the wheel where Naruto was stationed early one morning.

Naruto shrugged. "Just sailing," he replied.

They were silent for a few moments before Sasuke asked, "Didn't you say that you're not supposed to pilot the ship?"

The blond scoffed. "Yeah, well, almost everyone else is still asleep. Besides, I was fine the other day. No accidents at all-"

"Hn. But Gaara doesn't like you piloting. Does he know you're doing this? Maybe I should just…" With a smug grin on his face, he turned to get up.

"No!" Naruto interjected, reaching out and pushing down on Sasuke's head so that he stayed put. "Please don't tell. I like steering, and Gaara's just too picky. I'm not that bad; no one ever needs to find out."

As that was said, there was a snapping sound, and the handle that had previously been a part of the wheel was now lying in Naruto's left hand, completely detached, ends splintering. Naruto stared at it with a crestfallen face. "I can fix that…" he groaned.

When Sasuke looked up at him with a sceptical look, he shot out a, "What? I can! I have every other time I've broken it!"

"Every other time?" the brunet smirked.

Naruto flushed. "Yeah, just that… one… other time. That one time I broke it, I fixed it up fine."

Sasuke laughed. "Idiot."

In the afternoon of Sakura's sixth day as a deckhand on the Shuriken, she walked into the piano room and interrupted something that needn't have been disrupted.

Every day just after lunch, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared into this room and there they spent a couple hours simply enjoying each other's company. Some days they looked through the many shelves and discussed books they had both read. Some days they talked about their lives, what had passed and what they hoped to come. And some days they played the piano.

This day they were doing just that.

Sakura gasped as she walked in. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here. I just needed somewhere quiet to read," she indicated, pointing at the book she had brought with her. "I'm at a really good part, but Temari's snoring up a storm in our room and Kiba and Akamaru are making a ruckus on deck."

"It's no problem," Naruto said with a smile. "Stay."

So she did, taking a seat on the floor between the bookshelf and Sai's painting canvas. She had just opened her book to read when the music began.

Sasuke was playing the piano. Beautifully.

"Wow," Sakura said before she could stop herself. "I didn't know you could play the piano, Sasuke."

His cheeks reddened and his fingers fell away from the keys. "I don't," he said without turning to face her.

"Nah, he's lying!" Naruto said, patting the brunet's shoulder. "I've been showing him all the notes and fingerings. He's a natural," he finished, grinning widely, pride written all over his scarred face.

Sakura turned her head back to Sasuke. "You're amazing," she said, smiling.

The red in his cheeks darkened and he absently turned the pages of the piano music.

Naruto was still grinning broadly. "Well, he will be. With a little more practice." He turned to the music and flipped back a couple pages. "See, here, you…"

And with that they went on with their music lesson. Sakura placed her novel on the floor and watched silently, suddenly not so interested in her book.

It wasn't just music lessons that Sasuke was receiving. Ever since he had whined to Naruto about Sakura being an actual deckhand, Naruto had made sure that Sasuke would get the training he needed to become one as well.

Sasuke now wished he hadn't said anything.

"Keep focused, Sasuke!" Neji yelled in the brunet's face.

"Huh?" When his vision came back into focus, he saw that Neji was standing over him, where he was spread out on his back, having just been knocked over once again in their sparring match.

"Get up, grab your cutlass. We're not done yet," Neji said, standing back and holding his own sword in a defensive stance.

Sasuke groaned but did as he was told, and the clanging of swords began once more. And just as always, Sasuke would swing his cutlass at Neji, who would somehow easily deflect it with his own before bringing it around and knocking Sasuke's right out of his hands. And just like always, Sasuke would somehow end up lying flat on his back.

"Maybe sword fighting just isn't your thing," Neji mused, grabbing Sasuke's hand and helping him up from his place on the deck for the eighth time.

"You think?" he asked sarcastically, brushing off his pants and stalking away.

But all wasn't given up. The next day he was dragged out to the forecastle deck again. This time, however, it wasn't by Neji, and it wasn't to learn the art of swordplay. This time it was Shino, and he was sporting a gun.

"What are we doing?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the weapon, eyes narrowed.

"I was asked to teach you," Shino replied, cocking the rifle and turning to face a table on which several tin cups were sitting.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further. "Teach me what?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

Shino raised the gun, aimed and shot three times, hitting each cup squarely and effectively knocking them off the table. "To shoot a rifle," he finally replied, lowering the weapon to his side.

"Wow," Sasuke whispered, going over to where the cups were lying on the deck. He picked one up and examined it, noticing the hole that went right through the centre of it; the gun pellet hadn't been off by even a centimetre.

"Come, you try," Shino said from the other side of the deck, not having moved at all as Sasuke had examined the cups.

He stood and walked to Shino's side, where the surprisingly heavy weapon was put into his hands. Shino himself walked over to where a crate was set against the ship's rails and took out three more tin cups before joining Sasuke once again.

"Now cock your gun like so," he said, taking Sasuke's hands and showing him precisely how to do it, "And aim." Sasuke lifted the rifle to about shoulder level and nodded. "Fire," Shino said, and Sasuke did. Having missed, Shino said again, "Fire." Missed again.

Groaning, but determined to get it, Sasuke aimed at the third can and pulled the trigger. At first he thought he had hit the can, for it was no longer on the table, but then he realised that he hadn't hit the can at all, but the table leg, and all three cans were now rolling across the deck.

"Oops," he said, wincing. "Sorry." The now three-legged table, also missing a large chunk of the corner, was resting on its side and no longer of any use.

Shino just stared at it. "I'll get Naruto to fix that. You," he said, taking the rifle away from Sasuke, "Go. We'll pick this up another time."

It was late that afternoon when Naruto found Sasuke on deck, releasing his stomach contents into the ocean.

The blond grimaced and asked, "Stomach still can't completely handle the sea, huh?" He walked over cautiously to stand beside the other man, where he began to rub soothing circles on his back.

Sasuke groaned. "I'm fine. The spells of nausea just hit me once in a while. It's getting rarer and rarer, though." He spit into the sea then sat down, letting his head fall against the railing beside him.

"That's good to hear," Naruto said, joining him on the floor. He looked over at the sparkling water beside the ship, completely undisturbed by the happenings of the world, abysmal or pleasant, just allowing itself to be carried to wherever without a care. "We haven't done this in a while," he mused after a long while, surprising both Sasuke and himself with the unexpected sound.

"Done what?"

"Sat here under the dying sun, watching the waves, feeling the breeze. We used to do it all the time when we first met."

Sasuke smiled warmly. "We should do it more often."

Naruto nodded and looked back to the gentle, gleaming waves. "Yeah," he agreed.

They sat in contentment for a few moments longer until Sasuke suddenly clutched his stomach and groaned heavily. "I still don't get what you like so much about the ocean," he choked out, focused on keeping the remainder of his food inside.

"Really?" Naruto looked over, shock in his eyes. "What's not to love?" he began, rubbing at Sasuke's back once again. "With no rules or expectations, no real destination, surrounded by endless sea and endless possibility, it's pure freedom out here." He sighed contently. "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else."

Sasuke's discomfort waned exceedingly at the words.

All was quiet again. Just as the light from the sun was almost extinguished, Naruto asked, "So, if you don't like the ocean, why you here, then?"

Sasuke looked down at the deck then out at the sea, eyes avoiding Naruto's face. "You," he replied quietly.

Naruto eyes squinted as he smiled.

They sat together, without a word, until the only light was that of the moon. At some point Naruto's hand had slipped across the deck and into Sasuke's. The brunet flushed deeply when he noticed.

He made to pull his hand away. "Naruto, I…"

"Shh…" Naruto breathed as he slowly leaned closer.

Sasuke gasped then trembled, but didn't move, as Naruto's tongue flicked out to lick up the beaded sweat on his neck before continuing up. "Don't speak," the blond whispered sensually into his ear. He then moved to place his forehead against Sasuke's in order to stare intensely into the dark onyx orbs, which could only stare back.

Sasuke almost whimpered when Naruto pulled away and stood casually seconds later.

"Come, it's time for supper."

Early the next morning, Naruto was woken by a soft knock on his cabin door.

"Come in," he groaned.

The door pealed open quietly to reveal the captain, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted together. "It's time," he voiced dolefully.

Naruto looked at him in confusion before his eyes widened. "What? Already? I thought we had a couple more weeks."

Gaara shook his head slowly; time was up. "We're almost there. Just after noon hour, I would say." He cleared his throat and glanced over to where Sasuke was sleeping soundly. "Ready yourselves."

**TBC**


	12. Confrontation

Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm sorry I couldn't personally reply to any of you, I've had a really busy week.

Hmm, this might be my favourite chapter so far. I hope you enjoy. :)

**Chapter Twelve - Confrontation**

They were less prepared than they had hoped. Since Sasuke's family was no longer in the picture, they had placed all reliance on Sakura, and she hadn't had enough to cover the entire debt. They had been hoping to have some time to collect the bit that they were missing, but time was up, and they remained short.

To say that they were screwed was an understatement. The Sound was a sick, malicious crew, and they would stop at nothing to get back what was theirs. Hell, they would stop at nothing to get what wasn't theirs, as long as they wanted it badly enough. And this debt was something they both wanted and needed.

Naruto looked past the ship, to the island in the distance. His past stupidity had been chasing them for a year now, and it had finally caught up. His sentence was awaiting him on that strip of uninhabited land in the middle of the ocean. He exhaled deeply.

The crew was still asleep. Gaara had gone below to make the two of them some breakfast, leaving Naruto to steer the ship alone towards certain doom.

It was going to be a rainy day. The sun was just coming out, and there wasn't a cloud in sight, but the breeze was strong and nippy and full of moisture. Good thing he had thought to put on a cloak before coming on deck.

The hatch below thudded open and Gaara was seen coming up with a plate of toast and eggs. Naruto smiled in thanks when the captain handed him the food and took over the piloting so that he could eat.

When a particularly heavy gust nearly knocked the eggs right of his plate, Naruto sighed and set it down. "It's going to be one hell of a day, eh?"

Gaara nodded. "I would say so."

"Does anyone else know that we're meeting the Sound today?"

The captain simply blinked. "No."

The blond eyed him suspiciously. "How did _you_ know we were meeting them today?"

Gaara glanced over quickly before sighing. "Orochimaru left a message for us with Tsunade. She told me about it when we were there last. They know we're here; they've found us. It would be unwise for us to run."

"Whoa, you've known about this for that long and didn't bother to let anyone know?" Naruto asked, angry that his friend hadn't let him in.

"That's not true; I told you we were running out of time." Gaara said, smirking. Then he added a quick, "Sorry."

Naruto shuffled anxiously before wolfing down the rest of his breakfast. "I'll take over from here," he told the captain, who nodded silently and returned to his cabin.

As the morning progressed, Naruto watched as more and more of the usual lively faces of the crew sunk as Gaara told them of the day's plans.

When Sakura woke and found Naruto on the deck, staring blankly at the island, she knew something was wrong immediately. "What's up?" she asked, coming to stand beside him at the ship's edge.

"We're meeting with the Sound today," was all he said, but she understood.

"Oh. Does Sasuke know?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "He's not up yet," he explained.

They stood in silence for a couple minutes, allowing the swift breeze to flow carelessly through their hair.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura's brows furrowed and she looked over at the blond in confusion. "For what?"

He looked over at her, allowing her to see the grief in his eyes. "For getting you and Sasuke into this. If it weren't for my stupidity, the two of you would be living happily in your port town, and the crew would be as careless as they should be."

"Don't say that, Naruto. I can't speak for Sasuke… well, except that I can, and we're both happier out here than we've been for a long time. And as for this debt you have to pay… it's not like it's your fault, right?"

Naruto stared at her blankly for a few moments before blinking and turning away to stare out at the island once more.

When Sasuke did wake, close to an hour later, the ship was nearing ever closer to shore.

"I don't see another ship anywhere," Sai was saying to Naruto. "Maybe they won't come today."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, maybe they won't. Maybe they forgot all about the money we owe them and are far off on the other side of the ocean right now."

Sai scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Naruto," he said, completely missing the sarcastic tone of the other man. "Think logically. Even if we don't meet them today, they're going to find us eventually. Better to get this over with than drag it out, don't you think?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Sasuke asked before the blond could say anything in reply.

Naruto cringed and Sai scowled at the unexpected arrival of Sasuke.

"Oh, morning, Sasuke!" Naruto said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "How are you?"

The brunet's first thought was that Naruto was referring to the previous evening, but by the look in his eyes, he knew that the blond was thinking about everything but the actions of the day before. "I'm fine. What were you guys talking about?" he asked insistently.

Sai rolled his eyes and walked away. Naruto sighed. "You know that whole… ransom thing we needed you for?" He waited for Sasuke to nod. "Well, we're paying that money back today."

"That's what's got you so anxious?"

Naruto's eyes jumped around, never landing directly on the shorter boy. "Yep."

"I don't believe you." Sasuke was glaring. "Naruto!" he shouted when the blond wouldn't say anything more.

"Okay, okay, Sasuke!" the blond yelped, holding his hands out in front of him as Sasuke kicked him in the shin. "All I can tell you is that the people we owe the money to are here. We gambled with them, among other things, and lost. They've been searching us down for quite some time and now they've found us. But since we have most of the debt, thanks to Sakura, we're going to meet them on that island there and give it back. Easy peasy."

Sasuke stared at him disbelievingly for a few seconds before sighing. He knew that he wasn't going to get anything more from the blond and so decided to let it go. "So, how long's all this going to take?" he asked, leaning against the ship's rail and looking toward the small desert island. The trees were tall and thick towards the centre; the entire coast a sandy beach. The water surrounding it was calm and pearly blue. It looked like a nice place for a vacation, but he knew they wouldn't be staying a moment longer than needed.

"Hopefully we'll all be back on the ship, safe and sound, by nightfall," he heard the blond say behind him.

As the ship landed on the sandy beach, Gaara came over to speak with Naruto.

They mumbled quietly to eachother just out of ear's reach, but Sasuke was able to catch short snippets of what they were saying.

"…going to be royally pissed. We don't have what he wants…"

"…be swift, get out quickly, we don't want to stay long…"

"…dangerous for them. Our necks are on the line…"

"…leaving two behind with Sasuke and Sakura. The rest are coming-"

"Wait, I'm not coming?" Sasuke interrupted. "Why not?"

Gaara looked over at him sympathetically. "Because it's dangerous."

Sasuke was confused. Naruto had said it would be fine. "But-"

"You can't come," the blond ordered. "You're going to stay here with Sakura, Neji and Sai."

"Sai? I'm not staying! Naruto, please let me go. I'll stay safe, I promise," he pleaded, not knowing why he wanted to go so badly, only knowing that he wanted to stay as close to Naruto as possible.

"Sasuke…"

"Naruto."

The blond growled in frustration; those dark eyes always got to him. He looked to Gaara, who had raised a hairless brow at the blond, hoping that he would put his foot down and solve the situation. However, the captain turned to Sasuke and said, "If you promise to stay close to Naruto and listen to everything he tells you, whether or not you agree with what it may be, you can come."

"Gaara! No!"

"Naruto, he's not going to stop whining. And if you make him stay, he'll sneak off and get into trouble. It'll be better if he stays where he can be watched," Gaara explained calmly, as though Sasuke wasn't there.

Naruto looked back and forth between them before sighing and letting his shoulders fall, defeated. "Fine. But you won't leave my side and you won't say a word, got it?"

Sasuke nodded quickly. Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose, thoroughly annoyed, and now even more nervous than he was before.

The group had been wandering through the dense thicket for over an hour when Kiba barked, "Do you have _any_ idea where we're going?" Akamaru flicked his tail in agreement.

Temari rolled her eyes. "To the other side of the island," she snapped, looking behind her to where Kiba was walking. "Now shut it, idiot."

Kiba muttered something harshly under his breath, earning a smack from Shino, but Temari chose to ignore whatever he had said.

Sasuke, as promised, hadn't stepped a foot away from Naruto's side. The undergrowth of the woods was beginning to piss him off. Branches were cutting through his trousers right down to his flesh and mosquitoes were eating away at any part of him that wasn't covered by clothing. He couldn't be happier for the cold, since it had convinced him to wear the long-sleeved shirt that was now protecting him from the majority of the bugs.

As he absently scratched at a fresh bite on his cheek, the group broke through the trees and onto the beach.

This side of the island was different, much less inviting. The beach was rocky and covered in bits of driftwood and old fallen trees that had rotted through.

As his eyes roamed the beach, Sasuke gasped. Under the ever-darkening sky that was threatening a storm, there sat a large, unnerving ship in the waters off of shore. Twice as large as The Shuriken, it was made of a dark wood, almost black, with huge black sails. And standing on the shore in front of the ship stood its crew, completely still and waiting, with their hair and clothing billowing eerily in the wind.

There were eight of them, less than their own group of twelve, but they stood with such poise that Sasuke knew they were nothing to be fucked with.

There was one female, standing in the centre of the line of men. She had sharp eyes, a wild mess of dark pink hair atop her head and a scowl set on her face. To her left was a rotund man with a tuft of orange hair on his otherwise bald skull. His arms were crossed across his chest in a condescending manner. Beside him was a tall man with a zigzag parting his long white hair. He was holding a sword of some sort to his side and looking absolutely bored with the situation. To his left was an anxious looking man, sporting a white ponytail and wiry glasses.

To the right of the woman were two men with identical straight grey hair, standing on either side of a taller, black man with four extra arms, which unnerved Sasuke more than any of the others. All three were wearing identical smirks.

Standing in front of the line of arrogant people was the tallest man of all, with long, straight black hair that fell over his shoulders and down his back. Plastered across his face, which was pale as fresh snow, was the most sadistic smirk of all. There was no doubt that he was the captain of the Sound, Orochimaru.

"So, you've arrived," he said after several tense minutes of silence, a slight hiss in his voice.

"You noticed, did ya?" Naruto retorted, earning a smack from Kakashi.

Orochimaru's eyes thinned and he said, "Yes, well, on with our business. I believe you have something for us."

Kankuro bit his lip before pulling out a small envelope from his cloak. He gulped and strolled forward across the open beach, wind whipping at his face and light drops of rain falling onto his brown head.

As he neared the Sound, Orochimaru held out a hand, stopping him in his tracks. With a flick of his finger, Orochimaru signalled to the man with glasses, who stepped away from the lined-up crew and walked forward to meet Kankuro. He took the envelope from the brunet and opened it up to count the money inside.

Gaara took a deep breath and Naruto swallowed.

When he finished counting, the man turned to face his captain and noticeably shook his head. Orochimaru's smirk fell, thinning into an almost invisible line. "Kabuto, come, bring the money." He did as he was told, and handed the envelope to Orochimaru, who counted it for himself.

Kankuro hadn't dared to move from his place between the two crews. Sasuke shifted behind Naruto's shoulder.

"I see…" Orochimaru began. "You failed to repay the full debt."

"Oro-" Naruto began, forcing the man's furious glare upon him.

"No need for explanation." The smirk had formed on his face once again, and Sasuke knew something wasn't right. "Kimimaro," he called quietly, pointing two of his fingers toward the crew of the Shuriken.

The white-haired man raised his short sword and, before anyone could move an inch, it flew swiftly across the open expanse between the crews and embedded itself deeply into Gaara's chest.

Temari cried out, Kiba and Akamaru growled, and Sasuke swallowed bile as blood began to pool around the open wound. Kankuro spun around and began to run back towards his brother, not caring about the evil crew he had turned his back to. Naruto said nothing, but grabbed Sasuke's hand in his own.

"We leave," Orochimaru ordered, crushing the envelope in his hand.

**TBC**


	13. Lament

Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad everyone's enjoying the story thus far. :)

**Chapter Thirteen - Lament**

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Gaara's knees met with the sandy terrain and his usual bright turquoise eyes went dull, staring before him for several moments before they, too, were buried in the sand below.

"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted, sliding down messily beside his brother. He quickly flipped him over and brushed sand off of his pale face. The redhead's mouth was open, blood dripping out the corner. He choked once, blood spewing out the gaping hole in his chest. He was barely still alive, but he managed to whisper something into his Kankuro's ear before his eyes went sightless and his body fell limp in his brother's arms.

Temari screeched and fell to her knees, draping her arms over her brother's lifeless body and sobbing into his neck.

Kakashi drifted over slowly and pulled the sword smoothly from the captain's chest. "It's a bone," he whispered before anyone could object to the action. "This sword was sharpened from one of Kimimaro's very own bones."

Naruto failed to hear anything. Not the weeping or the whispering or the harsh breathing of anger. All he could hear was the pumping of blood in his own ears. Without thinking of the consequences he bellowed a livid, "Get your ass back here!" across the expanse of the beach.

Orochimaru turned on his heel and his eyes landed on Naruto's form. "What?" he hissed between his teeth.

"I said: get your ugly snake ass back here so I can kick it!"

"Naruto, please stop," Sasuke whispered beside him, tugging on his hand. The brunet's eyes were jumping between his former captain and the malicious one of the other crew that was strolling ever closer. The others were now watching as well; all members present from both crews. Even Temari had lifted her watery eyes to follow Orochimaru on his lone journey across the rainy shore.

He stopped ten feet from Naruto, whose breathing had become short and ragged, with narrowed eyes. "Excuse me?"

Before Naruto could repeat himself a third time, Sasuke tugged on his arm again and whispered a harsh, "Naruto!" effectively getting the full attention of the captain of the Sound.

"Who's this?" he asked, riveted.

"No one that concerns you, Orochimaru," Kiba interjected from beside the fallen man, nearing tears and growling furiously. "Now leave; you've got your money and you've had your disgusting fun. Get out of my face."

The long-haired man smiled modestly. "As you wish," he said, his eyes flicking briefly back to Naruto and Sasuke. He then swung around and headed back toward his ship once again without another glance in Naruto's direction.

As he went, Chouji helped Kankuro lift Gaara from the ground, whispering condolences.

"We should get him back to Neji," Kankuro stated.

"Why? He's already dead! Even Neji can't bring him back!" Temari shouted, her face red, tear streaked and speckled with sand. A small spot of blood adorned her cheek from where she had it pressed to Gaara's face.

Shikamaru shook his head. "He's right though; Neji will know what to do with… him." He grimaced. "Come on," he added, walking forward and taking Temari's hand and leading her into the woods in the direction of the Shuriken.

Kankuro nodded and, adjusting his brother on his back, entered the thicket as well, followed slowly by the rest of the crew.

Naruto was still eyeing the Sound suspiciously. "I feel like they aren't finished," he whispered so that only Sasuke could hear him. He squeezed the brunet's hand tightly in his own before pulling him off into the woods after the others.

At the other end of the beach, with his back to his unsuspecting rivals, Orochimaru was smirking. "Follow," he ordered. "Bring back the boy."

They had been trekking through the rain soaked forest for almost twenty minutes when Kiba sniffed at the air and halted the group. "We're not alone," he said, glancing around warily.

"Shit," Lee hissed.

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered, tightening his grip on the blond's hand and grabbing his forearm with the other.

"Shh…" the blond hushed. He signalled to the others to keep going, as quickly and quietly as possible.

Not two minutes later sounded the arrival of an arrow, bouncing off a tree two feet from Shikamaru's head. As the group stopped in their tracks, another four arrows were shot, falling all around them. Warning shots.

"Fuck!" someone yelled and the group split, running in all directions into the woods. Though they had all come prepared, with cutlasses strapped to their belts, and a couple with pistols latched to their ankles, they were unable to fight that which they could not see. The enemy was attacking from above, below and all around, managing to stay invisible all the while.

"Keep running!" Naruto shouted back to Sasuke, who was lagging behind despite their conjoined limbs. "We need to get back to the ship!"

Arrows and bullets were being shot at them from all directions, but luckily they hadn't been hit yet. Whether it was intentional or not, flying weapons tended to hit something.

Naruto was worried about the rest of the crew. He knew that they shouldn't have split up, that was just what the Sound wanted, but his priority at the moment was to get Sasuke to safety. He knew the brunet shouldn't have come. _Damn it all to hell._

When Sasuke slipped on a wet leaf and tumbled, taking Naruto down with him, the blond was sure that their time was up. Acting purely on instinct, he quickly rolled them both over and under a nearby bush, shutting his eyes and clapping a hand on Sasuke's mouth, listening to the noise around them.

The sounds were fading; the Sound had kept moving. He sighed in relief and opened his eyes.

Sasuke was pinned below him; eyes squeezed shut and hands planted firmly over his ears. Naruto had to smile at the sight.

Taking his hand from his mouth and shaking his shoulder lightly, Naruto was able to get Sasuke to open his eyes. "I think we're okay now," he mouthed silently, just in case he was mistaken.

Kankuro and Temari were able to make it back to the beach where their ship was moored within minutes of running through the dense trees.

"The others aren't here yet," Temari panted. "Shit."

"Here," Kankuro began, shrugging Gaara from his shoulders. "I'll go and look for them."

Temari's eyes widened. "No! Stay here! If you go back, you'll get lost or worse and I'm not ready to lose another brother today!" Tears were in her eyes again, and Kankuro sighed.

Nodding, he agreed, "Okay. I'll stay. Let's go." He pointed towards the ship with his chin.

Sakura and Neji were on deck when they finally made it back up. The pinkette looked up from the map she and the doctor were looking at. "Hey, how'd it go?-oh! Oh my! What happened!" she screamed, jumping up from her seat, eyes wide and hands over her mouth.

Temari looked down grimly and made her way over to Neji, who hugged her in comfort.

"Sound got him," Kankuro stated. He turned to look at the woods behind him, squinting through the rain. The sky was almost black now and the forest was nearly invisible, just a gray outline against the horizon. Every so often lightning flashed across the sky and lit up the beach, but there was no sign of anyone else. He sighed and made his way into Gaara's bedroom, where he had laid the previous captain onto the bed.

Sakura followed him into the room, trembling. "He's dead." It wasn't a question, but Kankuro nodded anyway. "And the others?"

"We got split up by pursuers on the way back; they're still out there somewhere."

Neji and Temari entered the room, leaving the door open behind them. The atmosphere was grim, almost overwhelmingly so. The four deckhands flopped into chairs to silently wait for what they could only hope was the remainder of their friends.

He was gasping for breath by the time he broke through to open air. "Phew, we made it, Shikamaru," Chouji said, turning around. "Shikamaru? Fuck, Shikamaru!" he called, noticing that his friend was no longer behind him. He was about to make a dash back into the woods to find him when Lee came crashing out with a limp Shika in his arms.

Chouji, expecting the worse, slapped his hands to his cheeks and stared morbidly at his best friend.

"Don't worry," Lee said, grinning softly. "He's just knocked out. He heard some music and tried to follow it, but I got to him in time and hit him upside the head before he could do anything stupid."

Chouji nodded, relief washing over his features. "Run into anyone else?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Lee replied, hoisting Shikamaru over his shoulder and jogging to the ship through the downpour.

As the silent minutes ticked by, with only the steady sound of rain hitting the forest plants, Naruto grew more and more uneasy. He knew the Sound well enough to know that they wouldn't have given up so easily. Unless they had somehow managed to get whatever they wanted quickly and had already returned to their ship, then they were still out there somewhere, waiting to pounce. Although he knew it was safest to lie in wait, he also wanted to get Sasuke safely back to the ship, and heart won over brain.

"Let's go," he whispered and slid out from under the bush, helping Sasuke out behind him. He peered around slowly before quickly grabbing Sasuke's arm and breaking into a dead sprint. He was already regretting his decision.

"Naru-!" Sasuke gasped, not able to keep up.

"Shit, Sasuke!" the blond swore under his breath. _We're not going to make it back. I can sense them already._

They ran for all of thirty seconds before an arrow flew by Naruto's head, missing by inches.

"Fuck!" he swore, much louder this time.

Almost the entire crew had gathered. Although it was still afternoon, an early night had fallen and candles were lit all around the captain's quarters.

Kiba watched as Chouji helped Shikamaru gulp down some water, holding a cloth to the spot where Lee had hit him. "At least we only had one casualty," Kiba said, trying to stay optimistic.

"Only one? Gaara is- Gaara was- Gaara… He was the best damn captain we could have hoped for, and all you say is 'at least we only had one casualty'?" Temari screamed in rage.

"Temari, calm down," Kankuro ordered from the other end of the room, where he was sitting on the bed beside the deceased redhead. "There's no point in arguing right now."

The eleven people, the dog and the body were all crammed into the captain's cabin, waiting with hope for Naruto and Sasuke to come bounding in from out of the storm.

But they hadn't. And it had been almost two hours since the incident in the woods.

"Someone has to go look for them," Sakura said eventually, shaking her head in disbelief. "Someone has to go find them! Find them and fucking bring them back!"

Lee inhaled deeply, nodding his head. "You're right. I'll go."

"As will I," Shino added. They both stood and looked around for any other takers. All faces were crestfallen, eyes cast downward at the floor.

"No? Alright then, I suppose it's just you and me," Lee said to Shino. "Ready?" Shino nodded and they opened the door and stepped out into the darkness.

"The plan went accordingly," Tayuya told her captain. "The group was successfully split up, with the boy separated from all the rest but Naruto. The others made it back, as Sakon and Ukon tell me, but the two have yet to come out of the woods," she added.

A bolt of lightning flashed outside the windows of Orochimaru's large cabin, illuminating his long, pale face. "None were killed?"

"None," the woman confirmed.

"Excellent," he said, smirking sadistically. "Now find those two and bring them back here. I'm getting anxious."

They had slowed down, merely walking at a fast pace now, but Naruto continued to trudge through the mud, determined and pulling the exhausted brunet behind him.

Sasuke yelped from behind, dropping Naruto's hand in the process, and the blond swerved around to see the cause. The big man with the orange hair was standing directly behind them, poking his long sword into the small of Sasuke's back. Though it hadn't yet broken the skin, the man was slowly applying more pressure to it as the seconds went by and Naruto could see the pain on Sasuke's face.

But nothing could be done; they were surrounded. Four more men had emerged from the forest in the seconds since they had stopped moving, forming a tight circle around the two.

"Good work, Jiroubou," the tall, white-haired man said to the heavy man as the twins with the grey hair stepped forward to lay a hand each on Naruto's shoulders. Jiroubou withdrew the sword and sheathed it, quickly hitting Sasuke over the head with a fist, knocking him out cold.

Naruto gasped and briefly contemplated drawing his own cutlass before deciding against it; these guys were too quick. "What do you want, Kimimaro?" he asked instead, with zealous hate, wiggling his shoulders away from the touch of the twins.

Kimimaro smirked at the blond man, who now had his arms being forced behind his back by and his weapons being removed. "I want nothing," he answered after several moments. "Orochimaru, however, wants the boy." He eyed the unconscious Sasuke spitefully. "Don't ask me why," he added. "I can't seem to find a reason."

Naruto just glared.

"Kidomaru," Kimimaro barked at the dark skinned man. "Take the rear. I'll lead the way."

And so Naruto was nudged along through the sodden forest, with no light but that of a dim torch being held by Kimimaro and the few fireflies that dared to brave the storm. Kimimaro walked fiercely, followed closely by the twins, who were careful not to be too gentle with Naruto, who didn't wish to go completely willingly. Jiroubou had swung Sasuke over his shoulder and was trudging along behind them with Kidomaru backing the line, an arrow knocked on his bow at all times.

Lee and Shino searched fervently through the woods for their missing crew members, but after close to an hour of wandering around, their friends were still no where to be found.

"This is ridiculous," Lee said, panting from exhaustion and cold, trying hopelessly to keep their single torch alive through the wind and rain. "We're wandering blindly through the woods in the middle of a storm. There's no way we're going to find them like this. We should just wait until tomorrow and hope that-"

"Look," Shino voiced, pointing through a small clearing of trees and to the visible beach beyond.

"Look at what?" Lee asked, moving his head back and forth to try to find what Shino was pointing at. All he could see was the rock-littered sand, stained with a small red patch but otherwise a pale grey. "I don't see anything."

"Exactly," Shino breathed, turning to look at the green-clad man, who finally understood.

There wasn't a trace of either Naruto or Sasuke on the island. And the Sound? Gone.

**TBC**


	14. Captured

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Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Fourteen - Captured**

The lamps overhead were swinging in a light motion when Sasuke slowly pealed his eyes open. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his head and his vision was swimming. The water sloshing beyond the walls was a sure sign that he was once again on a ship. He blinked his eyes a few times to clear them before sitting up sluggishly and looking around.

He was in what appeared to be a cell, only about five feet by six in size. Two of the cell walls were that of the ship he was on, the others made of wrought iron. One lamp was hanging from the ceiling of the cell, several more hanging on the ceiling beyond.

The walls were made of a darker wood, as was the flooring, and no windows were found in the room, suggesting that he was below deck. The room was larger than that of the captain's cabin on his own ship, and without all the furniture. A few crates were strewn about, and there was a staircase in the corner that disappeared behind a wall, leading to what Sasuke figured was the door out. Besides the cell the brunet himself was located in, there were two others, both empty.

His surroundings were dusty and a pungent smell of mould and must filled the almost empty space. The floor he sat on was dark with blood-stains and covered with a thick layer of dirt and some straw.

He groaned at the situation and thought back to the day before. Shit, right, he had been caught by the Sound, after Naruto had told him repeatedly that he didn't want Sasuke coming along. He couldn't remember anything after being surrounded by Orochimaru's crew; had he passed out? It wouldn't surprise him it he had.

What had happened to Naruto? Had he gotten away somehow? Sasuke hoped so. He didn't want to be the reason why the blond had been caught, especially since he knew that Naruto would have escaped unharmed if he hadn't had to wait for and protect him.

Sasuke frowned at the previous day's events. He just hoped that Naruto was safe with the rest of the crew, and that they would come rescue him soon. After all, he was one of them now, and they wouldn't just leave him to die, right?

He really hoped so. Sakura wouldn't let them. Naruto wouldn't.

He ran his tongue over his teeth several times and twitched his foot before obtaining enough courage to stand and explore his cage more carefully. The bars were sturdy with little to no rust, so the prospect of breaking free was slim.

Sasuke was tugging at the bars half heartedly when the door at the top of the companionway opened, letting some sunlight spill down and onto the floor below. A shout was heard, then a short cuss, before Naruto came tumbling down the steps, landing roughly in a heap at the bottom.

"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed, voice rough.

"Huh? Oh, Sasuke!" Naruto flipped over from his back and crawled over to where the brunet was locked. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. You?"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah."

"As much as I hate to cut into this sappy reunion, I have business to attend to," a voice sounded from behind the blond. Sasuke and Naruto both turned to look at the man that stood at the bottom of the companionway, arms crossed and glaring.

"Kimimaro," Naruto growled at him. "You bastard."

The white-haired man scoffed in mock-sadness, and he placed a hand over his heart. "The poignancy of that comment strikes me deeply, Naruto. Why would you say such a thing?"

Naruto sneered in return. "What do you want now?" he asked curtly. "I've already been to speak with your captain, and by the way Jiroubou tossed me down here, I had assumed I was free from seeing ol' snake-breath again any time soon."

Kimimaro smirked. "Oh, you are. Master Orochimaru wishes to speak with the boy now."

Naruto froze. "Why?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes and moving unconsciously in front of Sasuke.

"I can't imagine." The pale man sighed. "But orders are orders. Up, boy."

Naruto turned his head partially in Sasuke's direction. "Don't," he hissed.

"Stand, boy," the man barked again.

"Sasuke…" Naruto warned. The brunet stayed seated safely behind the iron bars and the blond.

"That's fine with me," Kimimaro said, scoffing and turning to leave. "I'll just go fetch Orochimaru himself, and see how he takes to these games." He stormed up the steps and slammed the door at the top harshly.

Naruto rolled his eyes and turned back to Sasuke. "Are you sure you're alright? They haven't done anything to you?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly. "No… why? Like what?" Naruto wasn't telling him something. He knew these men, well enough to know their names and hold a conversation. What had that debt been all about?

The blond wet his lips and sighed. "Nothing, Sasuke. I was just making sure," he responded - lied. He slipped his arm through the bars and covered Sasuke's hand with his own. "I'm glad that you're okay," he added, smiling. "Now, we're going to have to figure out a way to-"

He was cut short as the door opened again. A man was coming down into the hold, his boots clunking on the wooden stairs with every step he took. "Hello again, Naruto," he greeted. Pushing some of his long black hair away from his pale cheeks, he strolled over to where the boys were sitting on the floor. He strode over to a nearby crate, brushed the dust off the top, then took a seat, smiling wickedly in their direction. "So."

"So?" Naruto inquired cockily, though Sasuke could tell that he was tense with trepidation.

The man ignored Naruto, and let his eyes roam over Sasuke for a few moments before saying, "I hope that you're finding it comfortable down here. I would have offered you a room, but I'm afraid that they're all taken at the moment." He paused for breath. "Why don't you come up for some breakfast? Granted, it may be a little bland, having been made by Kidomaru, but it's still food."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue as Orochimaru quickly stood, but shut it when the man said to him, "You can come too, I suppose. Jiroubou really should learn some manners; throwing you down those stairs was a bit untactful and not at all what I asked of him. Besides, after the events of yesterday, you must be starving. I know you haven't eaten anything. Come," he added, opening the cage door with a small iron key he produced from his pocket.

Seeing no other choice, they followed him up the companionway and out into open air, crossing the deck with quick strides. Naruto was suspicious and it showed. He had grabbed Sasuke's hand protectively the second he was released from the cage, and had been walking between the brunet and Orochimaru the whole way, eyes narrowed and searching.

At the opposite end of the deck, which was much larger than that of The Shuriken, they reached another door, this time leading down a short staircase and into the galley. Seated at the metal table perched to one side of the room was the pair of twins and the woman from the day before. All three looked up upon the entry of their captain and his guests but returned to their food without word.

Orochimaru gestured to two empty seats at the table, and the two sat down. Sasuke eyed the food warily, but he was hungry. With a sigh, he went for a slice of what he hoped was toast.

"That's mine!" the woman barked. "Lie a hand on my food and fucking die."

He pulled his hand back roughly, jumping at the gritty sound of her voice. Though Sasuke was a little shocked at the redhead's words, he was relieved to know that not everyone on the ship spoke with the same eloquence as Orochimaru and Kimimaro. It was refreshing to be away from all the subtle jabs and sophisticated words that he had been surrounded by since he had awoken earlier that morning. He went to grab at a safe-looking orange.

"Tayuya, language," Orochimaru hissed, taking a seat between her and Naruto. "We have company." He placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, but it was immediately shaken off.

"Yeah, about that… why, exactly?" one of the twins inquired, taking a bite from his spoiled yoghurt. "Not that capturing them wasn't fun or anything."

"Yeah, I mean, we got the money, and you killed Red, just like you wanted," the other added, making Naruto clench his fists.

"Be that as it may," Orochimaru said, smirking slyly at the look on Naruto's face. "I decided I wanted a little more. To… compensate for the missing money." He glanced briefly at Sasuke.

"What you did to Gaara wasn't enough?" Naruto dared to ask.

Orochimaru looked down to the tea one of the twins had just brought him and said nothing. They, however, chose to. "Yeah, that guy," he smirked, taking a seat beside his brother. "He's all kinds of dead, eh?" They both laughed and gave eachother a high five. Naruto had to use all of his willpower not to throttle them that instant.

Sasuke found the remainder of the day not completely unlike how he spent his first day on board The Shuriken. After they had finished their rancid breakfast, Orochimaru gave them a tour of The Sound. It was at least twice the size of Gaara's ship, though it was powered be less people. Orochimaru gave them introductions to the crew as they went as well, though more so for his benefit, as Naruto knew them already, apparently quite well.

Although the ship was larger, Sasuke saw that it was in rough shape; the masts were windswept, and the shrouds were ripping. The deck was splintering and the crew itself was looking under the weather. He wondered briefly what would put them into a state such as that, where they couldn't afford to fix their ship, not to mention purchasing some healthier food, but he said nothing.

The members of The Sound were a menacing bunch; Sasuke had noticed that when on the beach. But some were not as bad as others. The twins, for instance, were quite annoying, but Sasuke felt less threatened around them than he did around Kimimaro, who had avoided their presence for the larger portion of the day. Something was up with him, but the brunet couldn't yet decipher what it was. There was also a large number of generic looking men that wandered the ship, finishing small tasks. Orochimaru said that they were a part of his crew, but he didn't introduce Sasuke to any, and Naruto didn't recognize any of them from previous meetings.

By the time dinner had rolled around (Sasuke had woken up just before lunch time), Orochimaru was finishing up the tour, having skipped most of the lower levels where the crew slept, as well as his own quarters. They were told to eat quickly before the crew arrived and took all the food. The black haired man then escorted them back to the room below deck.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to lock up both up in the cage tonight. Can't be letting you escape the ship now, can I?" he laughed softly. "I apologize; I'm being facetious. You would have no where to go anyway." He laughed again.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, but the blond was being as stiff as he had been since they had left the room that morning and didn't make eye contact in return.

Orochimaru clicked the lock into place, dropped the key into his pocket, and turned to walk up the staircase, but not before smirking deviously in their direction. The moment the door at the top closed tightly, the room went dark as pitch. With no windows, no light was able to enter.

The boys stood in blind silence for a few moments before Sasuke heard a sigh, and then the lamp above their heads was lit with a small whoosh of blazing air. Naruto had pulled a match from somewhere and had managed to light the fuse, and was now flicking the doused match to the side somewhere.

When the blond saw Sasuke's questioning look, he said, "Swiped it from Kidomaru earlier. Knew it would come in handy. I also," he added, slipping down to the floor, "swiped this." He produced a key from his front pocket.

Sasuke followed his lead and slid to the floor opposite the blond. "How? When?"

"When no one was looking. Fuck, these guys are oblivious to everything." He smirked, admiring the key. "With this, we can get out of here."

Sasuke frowned. "But where are we going to go? We're surrounded by miles of ocean."

"I don't know. And I don't particularly care, to be perfectly honest with you. Anywhere is better than here."

Sasuke watched as the blond hid the key under a loose floorboard before saying in a hushed voice, "They don't seem that bad."

Naruto looked up at him, eye twitching. "You have no idea," he said, scoffing.

They sat in silence for a few moments longer. "No, I don't," Sasuke said, swallowing. "But you could tell me. You don't have to keep everything a secret from me, you know."

Naruto nodded. "I do know. But…"

"But?"

Naruto raised a brow at Sasuke's impatient tone. "But it's a long story. Complicated."

"I've got time."

"And… well, there's a lot of stuff that I'm not sure you'll want to hear."

"Try me," Sasuke said with narrowed eyes.

Naruto stared at him, but Sasuke stared right back. His eyes were determined; he wasn't backing down.

The blond sighed. "Alright," he agreed finally, making himself comfortable. "Alright."

**TBC**


	15. Ripple

And a many long weeks have gone by since my last update, which I apologise for. Over and over, profusely, I do. Summer's been hot and tired, and I haven't really been in the mood for writing. But here it is: the story behind the story.

Thanks for the wonderful reviews, guys! It means a lot to me!

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Fifteen - Ripple**

"So, the ship is gone, Naruto and Sasuke are gone, and Gaara's… gone."

"That about sums it up," Lee said remorsefully. Sakura sunk further into her seat beside him.

The crew had raised anchor as soon as Lee and Shino had returned to the ship with the news that Sasuke and Naruto were no longer on the island. They had been sailing ever since, though they hadn't a clue where to start their search for their captured friends.

Gaara's body still lay on the bed; no one had had the heart to do anything else with him, although Kankuro had had the courtesy to cover him with a blanket to try to lessen the amount of wandering eyes that had gotten stuck on him over the night. They were planning to set him into the ocean soon. Soon. Once everyone had said their goodbyes.

Including Naruto and Sasuke.

Unfortunately, the prospect of the two of them being able to say good bye to the redhead was slim. Finding them before the body began to smell was unlikely, especially since they hadn't seen which direction The Sound had disappeared in. Night was once again falling. They were going to have to do something, and soon.

"How should we go about doing this?" Kakashi asked, cutting into everyone's thoughts.

There was a slight ripple of discomfort in the room, and everyone avoiding making any sort of eye contact.

"Maybe… maybe we should just, you know, lower the body into the water, and let it… go," Kiba said, trying to be helpful. Temari frowned.

"It seems the most natural thing to do," Shino agreed.

"He did want to be buried at sea, right?" Lee verified. Temari nodded, but the frown remained on her face.

Kakashi inhaled sharply and rubbed his hands together awkwardly. "Help me with this, Kankuro," he said, walking towards his former captain's body.

The creaking of the overhanging lamp became steadily louder as the silence of the room lagged on.

"I don't know where to begin," Naruto admitted.

"The beginning would be good," Sasuke said, trying not to sound too irritated. He was going to get the truth out of the blond if it took all night.

Naruto sat thinking for a moment before saying. "Okay, well, here goes. For almost as long as I can remember, I haven't had a family," he paused and Sasuke cringed at the bluntness. "My parents died when I was still really young. After they died, I raised myself. We weren't the wealthiest of families and all friends that they had had were long gone or didn't want a child as burden. Anyway, I was left alone in my run-down house. I couldn't have been much older than five or six. I don't really remember them too well, you know?"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered, feeling uncomfortable.

But the blond just smiled. "It's alright, Sasuke," he said. "So, one day while I was wandering through town, a notice caught my eye. It was posted outside the restaurant I went to quite often; they gave me free noodles. Really yummy. Anyway, the notice was saying something about a crew wanted. I figured why not? They offered residence on board, food, and pay. What was there to lose? I had no real friends in town anyway. So I met up with the guy, and took the job.

"There I met Kakashi. He was just a regular deckhand on the crew, but he was friendly and helpful. He had quite a bit of experience, you know, and since I was only eleven at the time, I needed all the help I could get. He had my back, and before I knew it, we had become good friends."

Sasuke smiled warmly, thinking about eleven year old Naruto making friends with the old man. "Continue," he urged.

"I was part of the crew for just over three years when we encountered Gaara's crew. It was the first battle I ever fought. Up until then it had been nothing but smooth seas, rowdy nights, and good times. But that day I saw death before my eyes. Gaara- he was a killer, no denying. Skilful, elegant and malevolent, he was."

"Gaara?" Sasuke asked, surprised at the words coming from Naruto's mouth.

The blond nodded. "Gaara," he confirmed, "Took out almost half the crew before Kakashi asked me to do something. I was small, loud and headstrong. He thought that I could somehow stop Gaara. Gaara was a branded man and he was wanted all over the high seas, but Kakashi had faith that I could stop him. He was right.

"It's still all a blur. Fast movements, adrenaline pumping, sweating, coming face to face with Gaara. That's when I realised that he was my age, barely a teenager. We fought; I took him on with my recently discovered skill with a cutlass. And as we fought I talked him through his passionate drive to harm people. Somehow it worked. I can't even remember the words I said to him, but they worked. And through unspoken words, we had somehow become acquaintances."

Sasuke gaped. "That's all true?" After Naruto nodded, he breathed, "Wow."

Darkness had fallen completely when they finally brought Gaara's corpse onto deck. Kakashi and Kankuro were carrying him together, one at his feet, the other at his head.

Sai and Lee brought over a small lifeboat, hooking it to the contraption of pulleys which brought it down to and released it into the water. The body was gently placed inside before Kankuro climbed in slowly, turning to help Temari in as well.

Sakura watched as the crew lowered the three siblings down onto the dark surface of the ocean, seeing the water pool around the new obstruction. She felt a tear slip down her face, but before she could remove it, Sai was there and wiping it away softly with his thumb.

"Thanks," she whispered, and they both turned to see Kankuro lift his brother's limp body in his arms. He just held him there for a few moments, looking over him with tear-filled ears, and everything was silent. "Goodbye, Gaara," he said finally, placing a kiss on his forehead. Temari sniffed and placed a kiss on her brother's forehead as well. She sat back and wept as Kankuro raised the body over the edge of the boat and placed it lightly on the surface of the water.

"I hope you have better luck in the next world," were his last words before he let go.

They watched silently as Gaara's body floated slowly, gracefully, into the nothingness below the surface of the sea.

Naruto's face was only half illuminated by the dying flame swinging above their heads.

"What happened next?" the brunet asked, immersed in the story like a child with a bedtime story.

"We met several times in port, each time leaving our crews to speak somewhere more private. Maybe the fifth or sixth time we met up, about a half a year after our battle, he asked me to join his crew. I accepted without hesitation; I had come to know him better over our discussions, found out the real reason he had slaughtered countless people. And though something like murder is unforgivable, sometimes it's unavoidable as well." He cleared his throat.

"We returned to his ship together, but I told him I had some things to do first. The next morning, just as he was getting ready to hoist anchor, I showed. He took one look at me and laughed. I remember because it was the first time I had ever seen him do that. He laughed, vigorously too, because I was carrying luggage larger than myself, and I had brought along what had become the most important thing to me: Kakashi. I mean, I couldn't just leave my entire life behind." He laughed softly.

"It was just after Gaara's seventeenth birthday that his crew revolted. I'm still not sure what started it, but they wanted him gone. Him, Temari, Kankuro… even Kakashi and me. They told us to pack, and left us at the next port. Gaara was furious, and I could see it in his eyes that if he hadn't vowed to make himself a new man, the entire twenty of 'em would have been dead before the night was over."

Naruto picked up a piece of straw from the dirty floor and shoved the end into his mouth. He chewed and nodded to the story in his head as he gathered his thoughts. "Yeah," he said to himself. "Yeah. We were stuck in that port town for almost two weeks when we finally found our way out; The Shuriken. It was unnamed at the time. Newly built, and never sailed out of the harbour. We took our chances and purchased it with all the money we had left. Don't think we ever thought it would be so perfect." He sighed nostalgically, still absenting chewing at the straw.

Sasuke waited patiently for the blond to continue. "It was only just the five of us at first," he said, not letting Sasuke down. "It was difficult to manage, but worth it. Within a month we had acquired two more crew members, in the form of Lee and Neji. We met them on the very same island we took you to; where Lady Tsunade runs the pub. They were looking for work, and there isn't much to be offered in such a small place. We offered them place on board, and as Neji was a doctor, and Lee an experienced sailor, we found that we had struck gold.

"Three months later Kiba, Akamaru and Shino joined the crew. Then Chouji and Shikamaru a couple months after that. It was almost a year later when Sai joined the crew. We picked him up on a desert island, and to be honest, we still don't know his story, but he was down in the dumps, and he was nice enough." Sasuke sneered and Naruto laughed knowingly.

"We were a wild bunch. Not that we aren't anymore, but back then… We would party all night, every night. Did some… pirate work, as you might call it; raided villages, stole their money. We needed it to buy more booze. And food," he explained at the expression on the brunet's face. "But we never caused any physical harm if we could help it. Gaara was past those days, and I never entered them.

"Anyway, it wasn't just raiding and drinking that we did. Tsunade's pub was always a source of entertainment for us, as were others. The crew let loose on nights we were landed; girls were plentiful unlike how they were at sea. The only woman we ever had was Temari, and she was off limits as the captain's sister. Unless you ask Shikamaru, of course." He winked, then continued. "We did have each other, though. Me n' Sai even got together for a while."

Sasuke's brows disappeared under his bangs.

"Almost a year, actually," the blond said, nodding and smirking at Sasuke's expression. "Then we split when we got a cabin boy. I… fancied him, see? And I didn't realise that Sai thought of whatever we had as anything more than… fun. He was furious, and he's still a little bitter about it, though now we can hold a conversation here and there. Well, the boy didn't last long. He got washed overboard one night during a particularly harsh storm. Drowned."

Sasuke winced again. He had never seen Naruto looking so defeated.

"His name was Konohamaru. He was barely sixteen." He sighed deeply. "I got caught up in gambling," he admitted finally, after a long, awkward pause. "Actually, we all did. Used it to drown away our sorrows. It was pathetic really, but I couldn't stop. Gaara and me, we made the perfect team. We played poker at every port, wiping the men clean. We cheated a lot, had it down to an art. It was dirty, taking their money from them like that, but it was better than raiding their homes forcefully.

"Our gambling went on for ages, and we were rolling in dough. At least we _were_, until one night about a year ago when we stopped in one particular port, where we tried our luck with a tall black haired man. He was a tricky opponent, obviously practiced in poker, and we were soon losing. Losing, all night losing. But we kept going, kept thinking to ourselves that we were going win all that money back. But by the time it hit me that we should stop, and just keep what we had left, I realised that we had _nothing_ left. We actually _owed_ the guy. Stupid, goddamned mistake."

He let his head fall back to the wall with a thunk. He closed his eyes and shook his head, muttering, "Stupid," under his breath. "Fuck," he said when he opened his eyes again. "That was a bad night. It was our first encounter with The Sound, and definitely not our last. For months they tagged us down, sending in men to take us out. We would have no choice but to kill the men in order to save ourselves.

"A couple times we stopped to make small talk with Orochimaru's crew. We would pay back any money we had attained since our last meeting, but it never amounted to how much we owed them, and the men would keep coming, keep dying. Over a _fucking_ poker game."

"How did you ever get away?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not sure. Stroke of luck, I suppose," he explained. "Lost them in a storm and got far enough away from them to be free enough to search properly for funding. We kidnapped a few kids, held them for ransom, but their families hardy ever gave a damn, and when they did, they could barely afford to get the kid back. That's when we heard about the Uchiha family, notorious for greed, wealth and cunning. We figured it was a good opportunity. And when we heard they had children, and a young son at that, we were almost ecstatic with the possibility of finally getting out of debt."

The Uchiha nodded slowly, finally finding his own place in the story. "So, you searched for me."

Naruto shook his head. "No, actually, you fell right at our feet the first night we made port in Trueno. We couldn't believe our luck. You were passed out and away from anyone who might have tried to fight us off. It was a gift from the heavens for all we knew. All we had to do then was write the ransom note, and so we did, leaving it posted to the door of the mayor's home, since we weren't sure where you lived.

"But then days passed and you woke up and Gaara got worried about the lack of worry from either you or anyone else who may have known you. Even the mayor remained completely mute to our demands. Some of the crew suggested giving you up, since it seemed we would never get anywhere with you. But I was attached and didn't want to spoil anything." He looked down briefly at his lap and smiled. "I didn't want to let you go, even if by some lucky chance we got the ransom money and could pay back The Sound. There was a part of me that was ecstatic when I found out you didn't have anyone to return home to," he added, embarrassed grin on his face.

Sasuke was speechless. He had absorbed too much information in too little time, and he was getting tired. He felt a headache coming on.

Naruto shrugged across from him. "Well, you know the rest," he said quietly. "We should get some sleep now," he added when he saw a yawn escape the younger boy.

Sasuke nodded and flopped onto his back, trying to get comfortable on the hard wooden floor. Naruto stood and blew out what was left of the small flame before lying down beside Sasuke, putting an arm around his waist and snuggling up close to keep warm.

"Sorry," Sasuke whispered after several silent minutes ticked by.

"About what?" Naruto asked, brow furrowing.

He shrugged. "The ransom not working out, always being sick, and judging you before knowing the whole story. I jump to conclusions a lot. Just… sorry."

Naruto kissed his cheek softly before whispering, "Don't worry about it. Now, go to sleep."

**TBC**


	16. Charm

It's been a while, but here it is - the next chapter!

Thanks for the feedback!

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Sixteen - Charm**

The next morning the Sound got their first dose of Sasuke puke.

After sleeping on the rigid, rocking floor for two nights in a row, Naruto was far from shocked that Sasuke had thrown up. In fact, he would have been laughing if it hadn't been for the brunet's discomfort. One look at Kabuto's face when he saw the vomit and anyone would have been in hysterics.

After the white-haired man had cleaned it up and gotten Sasuke a wet cloth to wipe his face with, Kabuto had disappeared back up to deck, scowling and muttering.

Naruto and Sasuke remained in their cage well into the morning.

It was just before lunch when Sakon and Ukon came bounding down the steps, one of them twirling the key on his forefinger.

"It's about time! We're starving here!" Naruto exclaimed.

They smirked. "Well, we're not going to do you any good. We're here for Sasuke, not you." They unlocked the cage, and practically dragged Sasuke out before Naruto could escape as well. "Orochimaru wishes to speak with him alone, since you interfered yesterday."

One took Sasuke's wrist in his hand and pulled him up the stairs, the other lagged behind for all of two seconds, enough time to stick his tongue out at the blond and smirk.

Sasuke was under the impression that he was going to be taken to lunch, but when they turned the opposite direction than they had turned yesterday, he realised that he was being brought straight to Orochimaru's cabin. He frowned, not looking forward to the meeting.

"Enter," Orochimaru gave his permission after Ukon banged on the door roughly. "Good morning, Sasuke," he greeted, smiling at the brunet as he came into the room and the door was closed behind.

Sasuke nodded but kept quiet, as Naruto had told him to the previous day.

"How are you?" the captain asked, smile still on his face. Sasuke shifted on his feet before shrugging. Orochimaru's smile fell a bit, and he said, "Why don't you sit." He gestured towards a chair adjacent to the desk he sat behind.

Sasuke hesitated but did as he was told, taking a good look around the room. As the ship itself was, this room was twice as large as the captain's cabin on The Shuriken. The bed was longer and wider, and separated from the rest of the room by a currently open curtain. Most of the many windows were covered, and those that weren't were dark with dirt and barely showed the ocean beyond. Shelves lined the walls, but, unlike the books Gaara's room contained, these shelves with covered with all sorts of strange objects that Sasuke had never seen before. The floor was also bare, and the room seemed more desolate than cosy.

"So, Sasuke," the man said, dragging the brunet's attention back onto himself. "You're probably wondering why I called you here." Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "It's because I have a proposal for you. And I know that you're probably going to reject, since you've gotten so comfortable with Naruto and Kakashi and them, but allow me to ask anyway." Here he paused for dramatic effect. "Would you be interested in joining the Sound, Sasuke?"

He scoffed before he could stop himself. "No way."

Orochimaru winced. "That's too bad. Because, you know, I have much to offer. More than Gaara ever will."

Sasuke glared. "You killed Gaara," he stated bluntly.

"Well, no, not technically," the man said, raising a hand in defence. "Kimimaro killed Gaara. Besides, it wasn't originally in the plan. I just wanted the money. It was Kabuto's suggestion that we get retribution if not paid in full. But it's too late anyway, isn't it, Sasuke?" He paused. "I'm not sure if you know this, boy, but, despite how he may have acted around you, Gaara was a cold-blooded killer; hundreds have died by his hands. He was just getting what he deserved, wasn't it? Karma finally caught up with him."

If it had been any other day, any time before the previous night, Sasuke wouldn't have believed a word Orochimaru had said about Gaara. But because Naruto had told him the story, he had no reason to deny Orochimaru's words. And as he thought about it he realised that, yes, Gaara had mercilessly killed lots of people in the past and in a way he was atoning for those sins.

Orochimaru watched Sasuke think over his words and smirked. "Naruto's no better, you know. He's a raider, a thief. He says that he's a good man, but he takes what isn't his from people who have had to work hard for their possessions. And he lies about it, too, doesn't he?" Sasuke met his eyes slowly. "Yes, I know he does. That boy can lie up a storm. I never lie, Sasuke. You can trust me."

Sasuke thought about that as well, then asked, eyes narrowed, "But you've raided villages as well, haven't you? You've killed innocent people. You've done all that Naruto has."

The man smiled sadly. "Unfortunately that is true, but I regret those times every day of my life." He watched as Sasuke tossed this around in his mind. "I told you that I never lie; I just admitted to something horrible. I'm compensating, you see?"

Sasuke frowned. "I still don't think I can trust you," he said.

Orochimaru grinned. "If you give me a chance, I can show you that you can. Hmm, I'm feeling a bit peckish, aren't you?" He stood. "Come, let's get some lunch, and then we can talk some more."

"So what about all the men you sent to death while tracking down The Shuriken? You must have known that Gaara would have them killed. That's not a very noble cause."

"No, it's not," Orochimaru agreed, solemn once again. "But I was trying to compromise with them, and the only way I could do that was if they would meet with us. But they wouldn't speak directly to me. I needed messengers, and every one of them volunteered for the job, just like every one of my crew volunteers to work for me."

Everything he could think of from the night before, all the terrible things Naruto had told him about the Sound, Sasuke asked the captain about. And everything he said, the man would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for. The pieces were falling into place, and Sasuke was a little surprised that they seemed to be in favour of Orochimaru rather than Naruto.

The man even had a reason behind the "kidnapping." He said that he had obviously thought that the crew of the Shuriken wasn't fit for Sasuke, and had decided to take things into his own hands in order to help the young brunet. He had been stuck on a ship with people who wanted to ransom him off in order to pay off a huge gambling debt, the captain of which was a wanted murderer. Of course Orochimaru had been concerned!

Now he was offering another home; a better one, bigger, stronger and safer than the last. He had even said that Sasuke would be brought back to Trueno the minute he said that he was finished with all this sailor business. It was a pretty good deal. Granted, the place needed a little fixing up and the food wasn't as great as Chouji's, but the Sound had an abundance of tea, which the Shuriken had failed to supply, and here he would get to sleep on an actual bed, in an actual room. And _this_ crew had a pet snake, which was _so_ cool.

"So, how's that trust coming along?" the man asked as they finished their dinner. They had been sitting in the galley all afternoon discussing the past, and now evening was falling around them once again.

"I, uh, actually have one more question," Sasuke started. "The first night we were here, I was in the cage alone. Naruto was brought down the next morning. Where was he all night?"

Orochimaru frowned and nodded. "Oh, yes, I was wondering when you would ask about that," he stated. "I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this, Sasuke, but Naruto came to see me in order to make a bargain. He told us that he would let us have you, at no expense, as long as we let him go." When Sasuke's face morphed into something alike to a grimace, Orochimaru nodded again. "Yes, he just wanted to be set free himself. He didn't care what happened to you. He still doesn't. Remember that."

Sasuke nodded.

Sasuke sighed. "Do I have to stay down here tonight?"

"I'm afraid so. But just for tonight. Tomorrow we'll figure out something to do with you. But at least we have some covers now, right? I apologize for not thinking about them before."

The brunet nodded and opened the door that led down to the cell hold. He traipsed down the wooden steps, and waited for Orochimaru at the bottom, where the man lit a lamp and opened the cell.

Sasuke walked in and sat down beside the stiff blond, dropping the sheets unceremoniously in front of himself. Orochimaru bowed his head and muttered a quick, "Remember, Sasuke," before leaving them alone, the blond's eyes following him warily the whole way.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke once the door was closed. "What've you been up to all day?" he asked, trying not to sound too indignant with the situation. Sasuke had been allowed to eat in the galley and stretch his legs all day, whereas he had been brought two plates of mush in his pent-up prison cell. Plus, he didn't trust Sasuke alone with that man. At all.

Sasuke shrugged. "Talking about stuff, I suppose," he said eventually, pulling a blanket tightly around his shoulders. Before the blond could say anything, he added, "Hey, Naruto, remember the other night when you weren't here, you were brought down in the morning, and I was down here alone? What… where were you?"

Naruto raised a brow and frowned, but didn't reply.

_So, Naruto doesn't want to admit it._

"Why?" the blond asked a few moments later. Sasuke just shrugged, flopped onto his back, and tried to make himself comfortable for the night.

The next morning when Orochimaru came down the steps and looked at Sasuke expectantly, his reply was a nod and, "I accept your proposal to join your crew."

Naruto gaped.

"Have you put _any_ thought into this at all?" Naruto bellowed, pacing the cage.

Sasuke cringed. "Yes, I have, actually. Just because you don't put any thought into any of _your_ decisions doesn't mean we're all quite as ignorant."

Naruto fumed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Where were you that night, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, turning around swiftly to face him.

The blond narrowed his eyes angrily. "Do you not trust me?" he asked. "Is that it?"

Sasuke swallowed. "Well… you have lied to me before. About being a pirate, and why I was really rescued."

Naruto growled. "And you don't believe that whatever that bastard has said to you was all lies? How thick are you, Sasuke?"

"I'm not thick enough to not know that I'm safer here than I ever was with that murderer Gaa-"

He was cut off by a punch to his jaw. A hard crack was heard, and Sasuke stopped all movement, holding his jaw tightly in his hand.

"Don't speak about Gaara that way," Naruto warned, seething.

The brunet just stood there, watching Naruto quietly. Tears were welling up in his big blue eyes, but he made no move to wipe them away.

"I don't know what Orochimaru could have possibly told you to get you to turn like this, but none of it's true! I've told you everything! The whole damn story! You sat there-" He pointed harshly at the corner beside him and a tear slipped down his cheek. "There! And you listened to me! You've stayed on our ship for weeks, and have we ever hurt you? No! And then you spend a couple hours with this guy, and suddenly everything I told you was bullshit? Every moment we spent together was a lie? Is that how it is, Sasuke? I've held the truth from you a couple times, so now everything I say or do is automatically false?" He was no longer yelling, but his anger and misery were still prominent in his words.

Sasuke said nothing still, but his eyes remained focused on Naruto as he moved across the cell to unlock it with the small key Orochimaru had given him the night before. He opened the door slowly, then closed and locked it again behind him. Naruto hadn't moved from his place in the corner. He just stood and watched Sasuke with hurt eyes.

Sasuke's hand hovered over his swelling cheek momentarily, but he quickly dropped it when he saw Naruto's eye flick towards it.

Naruto then watched as Sasuke wiped his own tears, stuck his hands into his trouser pockets, and tore his eyes away to stare absently at the floor. He watched as Sasuke barely whispered "Bye," and as he turned to walk up the staircase, disappearing behind the bend, not to come back.

Watched as Sasuke was consumed with false information, false hope for something better, and a false friendship. And he couldn't do a thing about it.

The door closed tightly at the top, leaving Naruto in complete darkness.

"Sasuke!"

**TBC**


	17. Shattered

Wow. It sure has been a while... Very sorry to anyone still reading! But don't worry! I haven't given up on this! It will be finished! D:

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Seventeen - Shattered**

It had been four days since Naruto had seen Sasuke.

For the duration of that time, the blond had been locked in the small cell in the windowless ship hold, worried about Sasuke and what the hell those men were doing with him. He knew Orochimaru, and he knew personally, after a small scuffle that had taken place at the poker game, that the man had a thing for younger boys. Despite what the man may have told Sasuke, Naruto knew that unless was able to do something, and soon, Sasuke would find out first hand just what Orochimaru actually wanted from him.

* * *

Sasuke was in Orochimaru's cabin reading a book on philosophy while the captain sat silently at his desk, intently studying his many maps and notes. Sasuke was curled up in the same chair he had been reading in for the last few days, in the corner of the room, opposite Orochimaru and his desk. The only sounds were those of the scratching quill, the waves outside and the occasional distant shout from the crew.

It was absolutely peaceful.

Soon, however, Sasuke's thoughts began to dwell on Naruto, and how the blond was still locked in the cell, unable to enjoy the serenity of the open sea he loved so much. He was thinking about how Naruto must be absolutely glum shut away down there all alone when the scratching sound stopped abruptly.

"Sasuke?" he heard Orochimaru call from the other end of the large room.

"Hmm?" He looked up from the page he had been staring at for several minutes, meeting Orochimaru's hard, yellow eyes.

"Are you alright?" the man asked, looking concerned. "You spaced out."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," he replied quickly.

"You're sure?" When Sasuke simply nodded, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes but returned to his maps nonetheless and the scratching carried on.

Sasuke quickly returned to his book, forcing his thoughts away from Naruto. His heart had started to speed, and he was almost positive it was caused by the look Orochimaru had had in his eyes. That look of possessive jealousy that Sasuke saw every time Orochimaru snapped him out of daydreaming. Every time Sasuke had been thinking about Naruto.

He may have found it peaceful thus far with the Sound, but that didn't mean his feelings and trust for Naruto had dissipated completely. He remained wary of Naruto's side of events, and every time that man looked at him with _those eyes_, a little more of him began to doubt that he had made the right decision.

He swallowed the lump that had been building in his throat. He was feeling extremely guilty over leaving Naruto, whatever his reasoning may have been at the time and now he was profusely frightened about what may happen to them in the future. He was beginning to wish he hadn't accepted the captain's offer to become part of the crew. The man had definitely been lying about letting him go whenever he wanted; that much had been clear. How was he going to get out of it, whenever the time did come?

Sasuke had not thought this through.

When the scratching stopped the next time, Sasuke didn't look up. He kept his eyes moving across the page, pretending to read, but not really taking anything in. He felt Orochimaru's eyes on him, but told himself to ignore them, even as he felt a flush rise up his neck and into his cheeks.

Then Orochimaru asked, in his usual sickeningly pleasant tone, "How do you like it here, Sasuke?"

"It's alright," Sasuke answered meekly, feeling no choice but to meet the man's eyes once again.

"I'm glad," the man said, smirking.

Kabuto had asked him the same thing at lunch earlier that day, and his reply had been the same. Kimimaro's response, however, had been quite different from Orochimaru's. "That's… delightful," he had said sarcastically from the other end of the table, and Sasuke hadn't missed the drip of venom in his voice. The twins had sniggered at the man's blatant resentment as he stood and stormed from the room.

Now, Sasuke couldn't even begin to imagine why Kimimaro was jealous. The man sitting before him was becoming more absolutely terrifying by the second, and unless he acted in a completely opposite way with the white-haired man, then Sasuke could only think that Kimimaro had a death wish.

"I was just thinking about my proposal to you." He paused, but Sasuke said nothing. "About you becoming a part of my crew," he added, slowly sliding his chair out from the desk to stand.

"What about it?" Sasuke asked the now-standing man, trying and failing to sound passive.

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Well, every other member of this crew had to prove their allegiance to me before I allowed them to become an official part of it." He walked around to the other side of his desk, closer to Sasuke, and leaned back against it, crossing his arms and eyeing Sasuke hungrily. "An initiation of sorts."

Sasuke nodded slowly, and then tested his nerve. This might be his way out. "What if I don't agree?"

"Don't agree?" Orochimaru's eye twitched slightly and he dropped his arms to his sides. "Oh, but you have already agreed. You agreed to become a part of my crew. I don't believe you have much of a choice, as it stands."

Sasuke swallowed. The look in the captain's eyes was nothing short of livid, but he tried anyway, "I change my mind. You never lie, and you said that you would take me home the moment I said I wasn't enjoying the sailor thing anymore, remember?"

To the brunet's great disbelief, Orochimaru smirked. "Really?" he said, moving closer to the chair Sasuke was still seated in. "Because I'm thinking you may find some enjoyment in this particular activity. After all, you and that blond idiot seem pretty close." He placed his hands on the arm rests of the chair, effectively trapping the teen. Then he leaned in and took Sasuke's mouth in his own, forcefully sucking at his bottom lip.

Sasuke didn't struggle at first, since there was no point in angering Orochimaru further, but when the man stuck his tongue into his mouth, and the taste and smell and feeling of snake overtook his senses, he lifted his legs in effort to kick the man off of him.

After a few failed attempts at nudging him off, he began kicking more forcefully. He felt one of Orochimaru's hands on his shoulder and the other running down his chest, and he gave one last kick, straight into the man's groin.

The captain flailed backward, sprawling on the ground a couple feet away, a strange hissing-growl sound emitting from deep in his throat. Sasuke jumped to his feet, and did the first thing that came to mind: chucked his book right at Orochimaru's head; the large, hardcover edition of Socrates' philosophical views.

That did not make Orochimaru very happy.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself before bolting to the door.

He threw it open, only to find a smug looking Kabuto, arms crossed, eyebrow raised and smirking. "Where are you going?" he jeered.

Sasuke quickly took in the situation; Kabuto was blocking his way forward, Orochimaru and certain doom were waiting behind him. He chose the obvious route: he hastily dashed to the side, knocking Kabuto off his feet and into the doorframe. Before he could even blink an eye, however, he felt strong arms wrap around his chest, pinning his own arms to his sides.

"Shit." He was not expecting that.

"Nicely done, Jiroubou," Orochimaru wheezed from behind. Jiroubou turned to face his captain with Sasuke securely in his arms. His feet were no longer touching the deck and he struggling fruitlessly to release himself from the hold.

As Orochimaru slowly came closer, hissing at the pain he was now feeling in his head as well as his groin, Sasuke winced. The man came to a stop directly in front of Sasuke, nostrils flaring and pale cheeks reddened in anger and humiliation. A large purple bruise now adorned the left side of his forehead.

Sasuke didn't notice the man strike him, but the next thing he knew his head was thrown achingly to the side and his cheek was throbbing. "Vermin," Orochimaru spat in his face. "Tie him to the mast. Seventy-two hours, no food, no water. See if he'll deny our little engagement again," he hissed to Kabuto.

* * *

Naruto was sleeping when the door opening at the top of the steps signalled the arrival of another meal. From the size of the plate, he assumed it to be lunch, but that meant very little to him. Being locked in a windowless room for days on end often caused people to lose all sense of time. He was just glad to see food and water.

He scowled at the man carrying it, however; Kimimaro, the smug fool, loyal to Orochimaru's every wish, whatever the bastard's wish happened to be.

"Naruto," the man said as he reached the bottom of the staircase, setting the glass of water down on a nearby crate. It wasn't his usual greeting of, "Dumbass," and the blond looked at him with a raised brow. "What?" the man asked defensively, sneering, when he saw the surprised expression.

The blond rolled his eyes, shrugging, but said nothing. He held his arm out in anticipation of nourishment, but it didn't come. So he glared. "What are you playing at?"

Kimimaro was pacing in front of the cage, holding the plate in one hand and scratching his neck with the other. "Naruto," he began, "I, uh, need your help." He stopped pacing to see Naruto gaping at him, looking almost amused. "It's not what you think," he added hurriedly. "You would benefit from it as much as I would, if not more, given the situation." He walked closer to the bars, as did Naruto.

"Spill, Kimimaro. I'm not in the mood for games."

The man's lips drew thin before he replied. "I just thought you ought to know." He coughed, then sniffed. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Turns out your boyfriend didn't take to well to the captain's initiation, and kicked him in a very inappropriate place." He watched as Naruto smirked. "Laugh all you want now, but you know that Orochimaru wouldn't have let something like that go. Oh, no, he's absolutely irate. Tied the brat to the mast, he did. The crew thinks it's hilarious; they don't very much approve of Orochimaru's new pet." Now it was he who was looking smug, as Naruto's eyes had once again become thin slits.

"How long has he been there?" Naruto gritted through his clenched teeth.

Kimimaro strolled closer to the cage. "Well…" he began, before his face met harshly with cool metal. The plate of food shattered as it hit the floor.

"How long? Speak now," Naruto ordered, hand fisted tightly into Kimimaro's shirt. "Or I'll kill you."

Kimimaro choked through a lump in his throat and then continued, at a quicker pace. "Almost forty-eight hours. He has another day to go."

Naruto let his fist loosen so Kimimaro could breathe. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I told you; I need your help."

Naruto looked at him sceptically. "For what, pray tell."

"I want him gone. I would kill him-" Naruto's fist tightened once again. "But then Orochimaru would be all over my ass. So I've come to make a compromise: I help you guys out, you get the hell away from me."

Naruto dropped him and moved back several paces, eyeing the man carefully. "You're serious?" Kimimaro nodded. "Because I'm having issues with this whole you killed my best friend thing. I don't really know if I should believe you."

Kimimaro sighed dramatically. "Do you really have a choice? If Sasuke doesn't agree, do you really think Orochimaru's going to let him go? No. He says three days, but he'll keep him there until Sasuke cracks or dies. Is that a chance you want to take? Because I don't really give a shit whether he lives or dies. Either way I lose. If he lives, I'm pushed to the side, forgotten like an old broken toy, but if he dies, Orochimaru's going to be livid. The only alternative I can find is you and your miraculous escape from the ship. The only problem is that I have no way of getting you out of here." He motioned to the iron cage.

Naruto scratched his chin and thought. There must be a way out. A crow bar or a- "Fuck!" he swore, pounding himself for not remembering sooner. He reached into the pocket of his trousers and produced a small key.

As he held it for Kimimaro to see, the other man barked a harsh, "Idiot. You had that the whole time but didn't use it? I thought you were stupid before, but now-"

"Shut up and move," Naruto said, reaching through the bars and unlocking the cage, freeing himself from his prison at last. "What now?" he asked. "If anyone sees us together, we're both fucked."

"I thought about that. Orochimaru is in the saloon right now, eating his lunch. He said that he's going to check on Sasuke after he's finished, so I'll go distract him, make sure he stays put for long enough for you get to Sasuke, untie him, and escape."

Naruto nodded. "What about the rest of the crew?"

"No one else is up there right now. We're anchored; we have been for a while. Kidomaru wanted a spot of celebration for our victory last week. I suggest you get the brat and the two of you make for the port town and disappear amongst the crowd before we run into any more conflict."

The blond stared at him in disbelief for another moment before saying, "Alright. Sounds good. But if anything happens to him, I'll have your head."

Kimimaro smirked. "Right." He turned to pick up the glass of water. "You'll be wanting this," he said, handing it to Naruto. "Let's roll."

**TBC**


	18. Exhaust

I come bearing good news! I've finally finished this here piece of fiction, so updates should (hopefully) be quicker from here on out! :D

Enjoy! :)

**Chapter Eighteen - Exhaust**

As Naruto had expected, it was mid-afternoon. The sun was hot and high in the sky above.

He hadn't bathed in days, and he immediately noticed the odour he was emitting as he entered the humid air.

Grimacing, he scanned the ship in search of Sasuke, minding to stay in the shadows near the door. There! Sasuke was up on the forecastle deck, tied to the mast. From where he was standing, the brunet looked mostly unharmed, but he couldn't be sure until he got up there.

If Kimimaro was telling the truth there shouldn't be any wandering Sound around, and after another quick scan, Naruto confirmed that he and Sasuke were, indeed, alone on the deck. Kimimaro had already advanced to the galley in hopes of distracting Orochimaru long enough for them to escape.

_Enough of thinking!_ he berated himself, and before he could convince himself otherwise, he dashed across the deck to the stairs leading up to the next deck, making sure not to spill even a drop of water in the cup he was carrying. There he made another quick once-over of the deck and continued on up the wooden steps.

Sasuke was tied facing the bow of the ship, so even if he were awake and looking, he wouldn't have noticed Naruto sneaking up to release him from his bonds.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whispered harshly once he reached the brunet. He was sitting on the deck, legs crossed, with his arms bound behind him. He wasn't conscious, and his head drooped down so that his chin met his chest. "Sasuke!" Naruto hissed again, shaking the other harshly in hopes of getting him to wake. "Come on! We don't have much time!" He shook on last time, and luckily Sasuke's eyes finally opened, albeit a little slowly.

"Naruto?" he questioned in a rough, almost-absent voice, squinting up at the squatting form of the blond.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded, eyes briefly changing from weary and disoriented to guilty and pleading, but he said nothing. His lips were chapped, his eyes sunken and his skin burned and pealing. His head was lolling forward as he fought to keep himself awake and focused, but he was fighting a losing battle.

"Here, Sasuke," he said, holding the cup to the brunet's lips. He messily slurped down the entire cup of water, and then pulled away, looking at Naruto.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" Naruto asked, putting the cup down and then getting to work on untying the thick ropes around Sasuke's wrists.

"If I hadn't insisted on coming with you to the island, we never would have been captured," Sasuke choked out. "And then with Oro-"

"Don't," he warned. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have opened my oversized mouth. If I had kept quiet, Sound would have left and we would have been able to help Gaara. And then we wouldn't have been in this situation."

"I'm afraid it's me who's sorry," a voice said from the staircase, startling them both. Naruto looked up to see Orochimaru standing not ten feet away, frowning.

Naruto exhaled in frustration. "Shit," he breathed, dropping the ropes and standing.

Kimimaro was standing behind Orochimaru, grimacing and looking strangely guilty. Looked like his plan failed.

Kabuto was also standing behind Orochimaru, middle finger pressed firmly against the bridge of his glasses, his other hand placed firmly on his hip. A smug grin was spread across his face, and he wiggled his eyebrows when he saw Naruto look in his direction.

"Bastard," Naruto growled, and Kabuto laughed. Orochimaru was still frowning.

"Trying to escape with my crew, Naruto?" the man asked.

"Sasuke isn't part of your crew, you gaunt, old pedophile."

Orochimaru remained passive to the comment. "Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru," he called. The three appeared at the top of the steps, as if from nowhere. He beckoned them over, and they pushed passed Kabuto to join him at his side. "Hold him," he ordered the twins.

They did as told, grabbing Naruto harshly at the forearms.

"Kidomaru, give the boy twenty floggings," the captain added to the other man standing nearby. Naruto glared harshly, struggling against his restraints and throwing angry insults in his direction. "Actually, make it thirty." The smirk reappeared on his face, and the blond continued to struggle as Kidomaru went to fetch the whip. "My, my, Naruto. Would you like me to make it forty? Because it can be done. No? Thirty it is, then."

Kidomaru returned with the whip, and the twins forced Naruto's shirt over his head. He growled and tried to jerk his arms from their grip, but he knew it was inevitable; there were six of them, and Naruto only had a tied-up and dehydrated Sasuke on his side.

He fell still and tensed up for the pain he knew was to come.

But no amount of awareness helped. The pain was unbearable, and he cried out in agony as the leather cracked against his back once, twice, three times.

Sasuke could do nothing but watch as the skin on Naruto's back was split open over and over. Blood streaked down onto the deck and Naruto's howls filled the afternoon air.

He passed out seconds after the final strike of the whip cracked open a new wound. Sasuke gaped and tried to move, but he was accomplishing nothing but rubbing his wrists painfully against the rope.

Sakon grinned and dropped the blond, as did Ukon moments later, and Naruto hit the deck with a thunk, blood still seeping from the thirty fresh slashes on his back. Kidomaru was smirking as he shoved the whip against his captain's chest and turned to walk back down the steps. He was followed by the identical grey-haired men moments later but Kimimaro remained standing at the top, head dropped to face the floor, occasionally glancing toward the fallen blond.

Sasuke wiggled and pulled enough so that he was able to face Orochimaru. He glared hard at the man's now completely passive expression. "Bastard," he seethed. The man merely blinked.

"Untie him," he ordered to Kabuto, who obeyed without question. He reached into his boot and pulled out a small dagger, which he then used to slice right through the rope and effectively finish the task Naruto had started. Then, with narrowed eyes, Orochimaru walked toward Sasuke, stopping in front of him. "Wretched!" he yelled suddenly, grabbing Sasuke painfully at the wrist and yanking him up from the wooden deck. His face was no longer passive. "You dare speak to me in that way!"

He shook Sasuke harshly, and the brunet yelped as he felt and heard something crack. He hung from Orochimaru's clutches, face contorted in pain, until the man dropped him and he collapsed to the deck near Naruto.

"Are we just going to let him bleed to death, sir?" Kabuto asked after a moment, watching Naruto with his nose turned up as the smell of blood overwhelmed everyone's senses.

Orochimaru glanced at Naruto from the corners of his thin eyes before turning to face his first-mate. "I don't care," he said, shaking his head. "Just get it out of my sight. As for this one," he added, throwing a reproachful look to where Sasuke was whimpering on the deck, "Leave him, throw him back into the holding cell, toss him to the sharks; I don't care. Gather the crew. We sail for open ocean in ten minutes time."

He gave a fleeting look to Kimimaro, who huddled a few feet away from the scene. "Don't you have some chores to attend to, Kimimaro?" he asked before stalking away.

Kabuto looked between the two on the deck, and, deciding they weren't worth his trouble, followed his captain away silently.

Kimimaro stood awkwardly for a few moments after the captain was gone, but he was soon on his knees beside the blond, struggling to get his arm around his shoulder. He then lifted him from the floor and proceeded to drag the blond back down to the ship's hold, Sasuke clambering to his feet and following behind.

* * *

A few hours later Naruto began to stir.

"Mm, Sasuke?"

"I'm here," was the groggy reply.

Naruto lifted his head from the wooden floor to see Sasuke sitting in the corner of the very cell he had managed to escape from earlier that day. The brunet was resting his head against the wall, and his eyes were closed, but he was awake.

He peeked an eye out to see Naruto lifting himself into a sitting position and leaning against the other wall. "How are ya?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Alright. You?"

"I've been better." They both smiled, though neither held real joy.

When no one said anything, Sasuke turned and put his head against the wall again. After a long silence, in which Naruto thought Sasuke had fallen asleep, the brunet muttered a short, "I'm sorry."

Naruto laughed, but it cut into a groan as a pain shot through his back. "Haven't we already had this conversation today?" After another bout of silence, this time brief but awkward, Naruto asked, "So, what happened? Last thing I remember is being flogged. I blacked out, huh?" Sasuke nodded. "How'd we get here?"

"Kimimaro brought you down. Then he put some stuff on your back to help prevent infection, and bandaged you up. He also supplied us with a jug of water, gave me goop for my burn and relocated my shoulder." Sasuke simply waved off Naruto's frown. "Anyway, he said that he was probably going to get in trouble for helping us when he Orochimaru finds out we're still in one piece, but he owed it to you for screwing up the plan." He paused. "What plan was this?"

Naruto smiled and shrugged. "Just a plan to get us out of here. But it obviously failed big time." He laughed softly again, but this time doubled over in pain.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sasuke asked, leaning forward and placing a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. No worries, I heal quickly." He leaned back again, mindful of his wounds. "It's no big deal," he added, seeing Sasuke's concerned face.

"It's no big deal? Really?" Sasuke asked sarcastically. "You almost died, idiot! Of course it's a big deal!"

Naruto frowned again. "You almost died first. What were you thinking, getting yourself tied to the mast without water? You could have dehydrated or starved or burnt to a crisp. Look at you, you're a complete mess." He reached out a hand and tentatively touched the flaking skin on Sasuke's face.

Then his hand dropped suddenly, and Sasuke noticed the pain etched deep within his features. "Why'd you do it, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes were downcast in guilt and embarrassment. "I… I guess there was a part of me that wanted to believe him. You had just told me about all these horrible things that you and Gaara used to do, and I was a little antsy, and he was offering me something different. I mean, he has a snake and tea and… and then you wouldn't answer my question about where you were that night, why I was down here alone, and I thought that maybe… maybe you had been lying to me all this time, and maybe it would be better if I stayed here."

Naruto looked at him angrily. He then cleared his throat and said, "I was bargaining with Orochimaru."

Sasuke winced and opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto kept going. "I was trying to convince him to let you go. I pleaded, and told him keep me here, I was willing to, as long as he let you go without hurting you."

After a moment, Sasuke nodded. "Of course," he rasped. "I knew it."

That took Naruto by surprise. After everything Sasuke had just said, he had figured Sasuke thought the worst about why he had been absent. "What? Then why?"

"I told you. I though that… maybe. But there was always a part of me that didn't believe a word he was telling me. It was in his eyes. And I knew you would never sell me out like that. Then I saw the tears in your eyes, and the intent written on your face, I knew for sure that you were telling the truth. But I couldn't go back on my offer; Orochimaru wouldn't like that at all. So, I did some quick thinking, and thought that maybe I could get close to him, get him to trust me, and let you out. And then we could fight them, or something." Naruto looked at him incredulously. "I don't know! I was under a lot of pressure! I was just trying to make the best from my own idiotic mistake!"

Naruto smiled and moved forward to hug Sasuke tightly. He felt Sasuke smile against his shoulder and they remained in the comfortable embrace for a few moments before Sasuke started shaking with laughter.

"What?" Naruto asked, pulling away.

"We're just so stupid. We were both trying to play hero, but look where it got us. Ironic is all." And he pulled Naruto forward so that they could continue their hug.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, his own smile now long gone. He had just been hit with the bitter realisation that they probably weren't going to get out of this alive.

* * *

Sakura sighed, sinking down and letting the sturdy rail of the ship hold all her body weight. She rested her forehead in her hand and looked out at the horizon, where the early morning sunshine was sparkling against the water. It had been over a week since Sasuke and Naruto had been taken. Anything could have happened to them by now, and still the Shuriken had been unable to catch up. Hell, Kankuro wasn't even sure if they were even headed in the right direction, but Sakura preferred to keep an optimistic outlook on the situation, even if it did seem to be heading to hell.

She had appointed herself assistant lookout, since she deemed Shikamaru unqualified for the job of spotting her best friend's captors. She had spent days on deck, moving around and looking in all directions for any sign of another ship sailing on the huge expanse of water, but had yet to see a single sign of other life, with the exception of a couple dolphins the previous day.

She was just thinking that maybe it was time that they give up the search when she heard a "Fuck!" from where Shikamaru was located, up in the crow's nest. "Kankuro, someone, get up here! Quick! I see a ship!"

Taking his advice, Sakura quickly pulled herself from her stoop and dashed over to the shrouds, arriving at the same time as Temari. They gave eachother a fleeting glance, and then scrambled up the myriad of ropes to the top of the main mast, where Shikamaru was standing, telescope in hand.

"Here," he said, handing the instrument to the lieutenant and pointing out to far distance. "Look, there. That's them, isn't it? That's the sound?"

Sakura watched as the blonde's flushed face went from anxious to focused to hopeful. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh of relief when Temari's face finally broke out into a wide smile; the first one she had shown in days.

"Yeah, it is," she breathed, holding out the telescope for Sakura to take. "We've finally caught them."

**TBC**


	19. Mist

This chapter really didn't want to be written the way I imagined it would turn out. I'm a little disappointed, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless. :)

**Chapter Nineteen - Mist**

"Captain, Kidomaru tells me that he has spotted a ship to the west of us. Following, sir. We think it might be the Shuriken."

"Hmm," the Captain muttered, staring blankly into the ocean beyond.

"Sir, what do you think? Aren't you surprised? Or worried?"

Orochimaru smirked. "Quite the opposite, actually."

* * *

Lee stood beside Sakura, overlooking the expanse of sea separating them from the Sound. "Don't worry," he said, rubbing her shoulders, which were noticeably tense. "We're getting closer. If the wind keeps up like this, we'll have caught them by nightfall."

* * *

"You're friends are on their way," a breathless voice said, waking Naruto from his fevered sleep. "Orochimaru's getting the crew ready. You should too, when the time's right." Kimimaro glanced back at the stairs, making sure that no one had seen him come down the hold. Orochimaru, as predicted, had very displeased to learn that Naruto and Sasuke were alive and back in the hold of his ship. If he found out that Kimimaro was not only talking to them and feeding them, but also helping them to eventually escape, he'd be downright furious, and then there'd be no telling what he would do.

Kimimaro frowned. He turned back to Naruto and asked, "You still have that key, right?"

Naruto smirked and pulled the bronze key from his trouser pocket. "Right here," he said.

"Good. You'll need it." And with that said, he darted back up the staircase to the deck above.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was putting the key back into his pocket for safe keeping. The blond had been eerily quiet all night. And as the time ticked on, it seemed to Sasuke that Naruto was getting paler, though he couldn't be sure in the dim light that was coming from the lantern above.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Naruto exhaled heavily. "I'm not sure," he said, wincing as he moved. "My back feels…" He grunted as he moved into a comfortable sitting position. As he lifted up his shirt to reveal his back to Sasuke, he heard a moan of disapproval. "What?"

"That doesn't look good, Naruto," Sasuke replied, frowning at the wounds that littered Naruto's once smooth skin. "The welts are all yellow and oozing. I don't think Kimimaro's stuff is working."

Naruto hissed as he let his shirt fall back against his skin. "Infected," he uttered with a sigh, then crawled across the floor to lean a shoulder against the wall. "I need to see Neji soon if I hope to survive," he said, closing his eyes and falling instantly back to sleep.

* * *

Afternoon was quickly turning into evening when Kabuto found Orochimaru at the stern of the ship, watching the rapidly approaching Shuriken navigate its way through the rough seas.

"Orochimaru, sir, what are we to do once The Shuriken catches up? We are facing imminent battle, and the crew is not immensely pleased. There has been talk… not all are quite certain that you've completely thought this through. In fact, some think that we should raise the final sails and make a quick escape. Or, maybe… perhaps we should we just hand over the prisoners and have it be done?"

"Insolent fools!" Orochimaru barked. "All of you, to even consider running," he said, standing stalk still with his hands behind his back, still looking out at the ocean. "No, we will fight, and the prisoners will remain in the hold where they are. And do not think me so foolish. I know that this will end bloody." He turned to Kabuto. "If this battle takes a turn for the worse, ready a lifeboat. At the very least, you and I will get away."

Kabuto could only stare at his captain, mouth slightly ajar in confusion. "But, sir-"

"No buts, Kabuto. Do as you are told, and you may yet make it through the night."

* * *

Many long hours had passed since Kimimaro's visit - Sasuke guessed that it was probably nearing nightfall - and Naruto had still not woken. To say that he was worried was an understatement. The previous night he had been worried, that morning his worry had increased, but he had still been able to keep himself collected.

Now, however, his anxiety for Naruto to just fucking wake up was becoming too much. He spent the afternoon biting his nails so low that his fingers began to bleed, and spent the evening pacing the prison and half-heartedly pulling on the bars and pounding the walls as though, in some way, that might help him figure out what to do.

Presently he was mashing his knuckles together, occasionally reaching out and prodding Naruto in the face, which remained an unsuccessful method of getting him to wake, while trying to keep his breathing under control, which wasn't really working out so well.

It didn't help that they hadn't been brought any food or water since the previous day. And though Sasuke had slept during the night, he had tossed and turned and felt sick with dehydration and exhaustion.

He had never felt so miserable in his life.

And just as he was dwelling over these thoughts, he felt the ship bump into something; or rather something bump into the ship. Everything was eerily silent for a few minutes, so much so that Sasuke had nearly feigned off the distraction as his imagination, when all of a sudden there was a whirlwind of activity above them.

The door at the top of the companionway banged open, and Kimimaro came rushing down the stairs. "Naruto!" he gasped. "Naruto! Do you have the key? Huh? Wake up, fool!"

Naruto stirred. Slowly he came to, and lifted his head to glare at Kimimaro. "What?" he ground out slowly.

"Naruto, your crew is here. But if things pan out how I think they will, no good is going to come of this unless you convince them to go. Now."

Suddenly Naruto was wide awake and alert. He was on his feet, producing the key, clicking open the lock and helping Sasuke to his feet in the blink of an eye. "Thanks," he said to Kimimaro, giving a curt nod that was likewise returned. Something passed between them then that Sasuke didn't fully understand, but he had no time to think about it. Before he even had time to furrow his brows at the entire situation, he was pulled up the staircase and out into open air. What he saw shocked him.

It had been mere minutes since Kimimaro had come rushing down to below deck, but up above all hell had broken loose.

Spread across the deck were several fights between the two crews, all already established and well past the beginning stages of snide remarks and occasional sword thrusts.

Shikamaru and Tayuya were fighting right near where Sasuke and Naruto were standing with Kimimaro at the top of the companionway. Both were completely oblivious to everything around them but each other, both focused and intent on getting the kill. However, while Tayuya was looking like she was having the time of her life, Shikamaru was already sporting a few bruises and was looking quite unsure of himself.

Chouji and Jiroubou were just beyond them, fighting hand to hand, both of them looking frustrated, hungry and like they'd rather be anywhere else.

Fighting against the ship's port-side rail were Neji and Kidomaru. Though Neji was skilled with using a cutlass, he was definitely at the disadvantage against an enemy that used a bow, and by the put-out expression that adorned his face, it was clear that he knew just how badly the fight could go. He had no power over the other as long as Kidomaru was able to attack long-distance, and the Sound member was using this knowledge to his advantage. He circled Neji, bow in hand and arrow knocked, smirking sadistically.

Up on the forecastle deck were several people, all fighting with swords. Akamaru was biting at the heels of the twins as they were being rightly out-fought by the skilled Kiba and Kankuro.

On the quarter deck behind where they were standing, Kabuto was taking on three at once; Kakashi, Sakura and Sai were all throwing their best at the Sound's lieutenant to almost no avail. The man was a skilled combatant, and looked to be barely breaking a sweat against the three. Orochimaru was no where to be seen.

Filtering through these fights was the seemingly endless supply of Orochimaru's nameless, faceless and obviously disposable, at least in Orochimaru's opinion, crew members. Temari, Lee and Shino were working to rid the deck of these men with their rapier, body and rifle respectively, and bodies were falling with heavy thuds everywhere.

Sasuke felt sick. The deck was slippery with freshly spilled blood, the metallic smell of it filling the air. Screams were echoing all around. Angry screams, frightened screams. Dying screams.

"Hurry!"

He was jerked out of his dark reverie by Kimimaro's voice. The man had just run into battle with an angry-looking Lee, but not before throwing a cutlass to Naruto.

As Sasuke followed Naruto into the fight against a nameless, he noticed Temari run over to help Shikamaru; the nameless numbers were finally dwindling. Itching to help, but knowing that he was ultimately get in Naruto's way, he stood back and took a quick look around the ship again, hoping to see that all his friends were still holding up.

Chouji was leaning against the rails, bloody and bruised but looking rather pleased with himself. The body of Jiroubou lay at his feet. Sakura had left Kakashi and Sai to fend for themselves against Kabuto in order to help Chouji, who was sliding down to the deck, struggling to stay conscious. Shikamaru was now holding Tayuya alone again, as Temari was running off towards the quarter deck. Lee and Kimimaro were neck and neck, but both were looking more and more weary as the minutes ticked by.

The fight between Neji and Kidomaru looked to be taking a new turn as soon as Neji was able to knock the bow out of Kidomaru's hands with a particularly swift swipe of the cutlass and into the ocean below. But others weren't doing so well. Sasuke looked up to the forecastle deck just in time to see one of the twin's swords slide smoothly into Kiba's gut. The man smirked as he twisted the sword viciously before pulling it out again and watching as Kiba fell to the deck, face in anguish, clutching his gushing wound. Akamaru's howls echoed into the night.

Naruto quickly slashed the neck of the final nameless, who was about to attack the distracted and weaponless Sasuke, just as Temari screamed and was thrown down from the quarter deck, where Orochimaru now stood overlooking the battle, imposing against the night sky, with his face expressionless and his snake thrown over one shoulder, hissing vehemently.

Sasuke watched as Shino and Naruto rushed by him in opposite directions, one to the aid of Shikamaru, who was holding his arm like it was broken and whose face was now showing nothing but exhaustion and pain, and the other past Temari's unconscious form to fight Orochimaru himself.

Tayuya quickly fell with the new help, and Shikamaru was slowly making his way to Temari on the opposite side of the deck, slipping on patches of what could be assumed as blood. Shino, likewise, was making his way toward a fallen friend. Kiba was lying in a pool of blood when Shino managed to make it to the forecastle deck, where Kankuro was just finishing off the second twin in the same manner as the first- mangling the limbs with his quick strikes until they could barely fight back, then putting them out of their misery with a jab and twist to the stomach, all in a true karma fashion.

"Arrg!" Naruto shouted from above Sasuke. He turned to see the blond launch himself at the captain of the Sound, only to be knocked aside, his cutlass flying off to the other side of the deck. Despite this, however, he was soon on his feet and running toward the captain again, only this time without a weapon.

"Naruto!" Sasuke tried to call, only to find that his voice was gone. He ran towards the steps, taking them two at a time, and over to Naruto's discarded weapon. "Naruto!" he tried again, this time his voice coming out loud and clear. The blond looked over just in time to see Sasuke throw the cutlass at him.

Catching it in his right hand, Naruto once again lunged at Orochimaru, who had finally taken out his own weapon. Their swords clinked together several times, with Naruto persistently trying to get a hit at the Captain and eventually managing to slash open the side of Orochimaru's face. But the captain was fast as well; he twirled around Naruto seconds later and slashed his across his injured back.

Naruto let out a cry of pain, and his vision went bright and watery.

Sasuke watched as he dropped his cutlass and collapsed on the deck, then as Orochimaru turned to wink at him before casually walking over to the rail to better his view of the battle below.

Kimimaro looked up just in time to see Orochimaru give Kabuto a good long stare, and Kabuto return it with ease, even as he was fighting off Sai and Kakashi.

Lee took a kick at Kimimaro's face, but it was deflected by a long bone that he had produced just in time. Lee went in for another kick, but Kimimaro slashed at the thick rope beside them, allowing the broken beam that it had been holding in place to come crashing down on top of Lee. Kimimaro watched as the dust and dirt cleared to reveal Lee's legs pinned under the beam, effectively taking him out of battle.

He had to hurry if he was going to get off the ship alive. Though many of the Shuriken's crew had been knocked unconscious or were otherwise out of the battle, there were still enough of them to take him out. He began to run towards the lifeboat.

He watched as Kabuto shot once, twice, three times into Sai's body before following suit. Then, with the loud bang of another bullet being fired, his vision went black and all was silent.

Sasuke gasped as he watched Kabuto fire his rifle, stopping first Sai then Kimimaro dead in their tracks. "Kakashi!" he called. The man, who had run over to where Sai was bleeding on the deck, looked up in time Kabuto jumping the rail to land in the lifeboat behind Orochimaru, who was already lowering them down swiftly into the water.

"Shino!" he called across the large craft, and the other man responded by firing his own rifle at the escaping men. He was too late, however. The boat had disappeared behind the ship, and by the time Kakashi ran over to where they had been moments before, the life boat was already in the water and swiftly rowing away.

Kakashi did make it time, however, to see Orochimaru take out a rifle, and, with a grin that could only be described as malicious plastered on his pasty face, shoot at a lamp that had been precariously hanging from the shrouds on the main deck. The lamp fell, the oil from inside spilling out across the already soaked deck. The tiny fire that had been dying inside the lamp suddenly blazed to life with a whoosh.

**TBC**


	20. Thrive

First, a thank you to everyone who took the time to review my last chapter! :D

We're nearing the end! Only two more chapters to go after this one. I hope you enjoy it! :)

**Chapter Twenty - Thrive**

"They doused the deck in oil! How could we have been so stupid to not have noticed?" Kakashi exclaimed, running past the spreading fire and towards where Sai was still laying on the deck, coughing up blood and reaching out mindlessly for something only he could see.

Lifting the wounded man into his arms, Kakashi shouted up at Shino and Kankuro. "Get them back to the Shuriken!" He turned to Sasuke, who was on the other side of the large vessel, crouching shakily beside the unconscious Naruto. "You too, Sasuke!"

Sakura, who had already helped Chouji stumble his way back, came unsteadily rushing across the plywood that had been set precariously across the ocean between the two ships. She dashed over to Shikamaru, who was trying to lift a dazed but awake Temari with his good arm, and the three of them were soon making their way back to the Shuriken. Kakashi followed swiftly behind, the blood dripping from Sai's wounds staining his shirt as he went.

Shino lifted Kiba gently and, followed by a still howling Akamaru, ran past the growing blaze and across the plywood. Kankuro jumped down to the main deck, and, dodging more falling logs that had once made up the structure of the Sound's mast and sails, made his way over to Lee. With their combined strength, they managed to push the fallen log off of Lee's legs, and then Kankuro helped him quickly get away from the fire to the safety of their own ship just as Kakashi was running back.

"Sasuke!" he called, noticing the brunet was sitting stock-still in the same place he had left him minutes before. "Get moving! Damn, where's Neji?" he added, groaning with frustration.

"There! Kakashi, there!" Sasuke shouted, pointing to the place where Neji had been fighting, and where he now saw Neji's arm protruding from under Kidomaru's corpse.

Kakashi ran over and, pushing the dead Sound away, freed the waking doctor. "Come, Sasuke!" he shouted once more as he ran back to the Shuriken, Neji in tow.

"I can't!" Sasuke said at last, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get Naruto back without help. Kakashi sighed, more out of exhaustion than anger, and handed the dazed Neji over to a waiting Kankuro. Then, finding a safe path through the smoke and fire and past the burning logs and fallen sails, he made his way to where Sasuke stood with Naruto beside him.

"Come," Kakashi said, lifting Naruto on to his back and grabbing Sasuke's wrist. "Let's get out of here."

The plywood was pulled back after their racing feet had safely reached the Shuriken's deck. Kankuro was ready at the wheel, the sails were up, and the Shuriken was just catching hold of the wind when the last of Sound's vessel sunk slowly into the abyss below.

Sasuke stood on the deck with Kakashi and watched where the bubbles played against the surface of the water, where moments before his prison had been. He stood, with his heart still racing and his mind still whirring, as the cool night breeze blew through his singe-free hair and the first droplets of a storm fell onto his unharmed skin.

* * *

Naruto woke warm and comfortable in his cot on the Shuriken. The warm light that filtered through the window and onto his face suggested that it was late afternoon.

He yawned and sat up slowly, noticing the lack of extreme pain in his back. He sighed in relief; Neji was a miracle worker. Bandages were wrapped around his entire torso, keeping a good amount of gauze and ointment in place on his back, but he could move, and he was thankful.

He slowly flexed and stretched all his muscles and joints, starting with his toes and finishing with his sleep-stiff shoulders, relishing in the blissfully calm air, in the way his body was no longer tensed up. It was a feeling he hadn't had the good fortune to feel in ages; since before the debt.

After deciding to lay contentedly in his bed for several quiet moments, simply listening to the rocking of the ship he called home, he finally leaned forward and shifted out of bed. Standing, he went to work on finding a clean shirt to pull on over his wrappings. He was just throwing one on when Sasuke came into the room.

They stared at each other in silence for a few achingly long moments, Sasuke's hand frozen on the door handle, Naruto's arms half-way in the process of pulling his shift down his torso. Then suddenly Sasuke was plastered to Naruto, arms around his neck so tightly, he was worried the brunet might cut off his air flow.

"It's nice to see you, too, Sasuke," he laughed, returning the hug.

"Idiot," was his reply, but he felt the smile against his shoulder.

* * *

"Good to see you up and about, Naruto," Kakashi said, beaming when the blond walked into the galley a few minutes later. "Everyone was worried about you, Sasuke especially. Kept running to find Neji every time you so much as twitched a finger."

Naruto smiled at the thought. "How long was I out?" he asked, taking a seat at the table that was already occupied by Shino, Neji, Kankuro and Kakashi. Chouji was singing in the kitchen, probably working on that evening's supper.

Neji replied. "Your infection was horribly disgusting and repulsive," he sneered. "Yellow and oozing, and the edges littered with green scabs. You're lucky I wasn't too off-putted to clean it up for you. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did with Orochimaru with wounds like that." He sneered in the direction of the wounds, then he answered the question. "Tonight will make three days since the fight with the Sound."

Naruto let out a long, low whistle. "That long, huh?" Taking a look at his companions, he suddenly felt a lurch of worry. "I passed out before the end… Where's everyone else?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer. Until Kankuro showed a genuine smile.

"They're all alright. Temari's up on deck, piloting the ship. She needed some time to herself."

"Lee's been confined to bed. His legs were badly damaged, and if he tries to walk before they're mended, things are only going to get worse," Neji said, rolling his eyes. Obviously Lee wasn't taking too kindly to having to sit still.

"Shikamaru's arm and finger were broken, but he's otherwise fine," Chouji added, walking out of the kitchen with a plate loaded with freshly sliced fruit. "He's up in the crow's nest. Sleeping no doubt." He placed the plate on the table, took a slice of melon, and joined them.

Everyone was suddenly looking grim. "The others?" Naruto prompted.

"Akamaru's with Kiba," Neji said. "He took a sword to the abdomen. We nearly lost him… but he's a fighter, and now, with the help of some powerful drugs, he's on the mend. He'll be up and annoying us again in no time."

"Reminds me," Shino added, standing. "It's about time I check on him again, and make sure he hasn't scratched at his bandages. I was debating about tying his wrists behind his back, then thought it might be too cruel and decided against it. But I can always change my mind." With those words, he strolled from the room.

Once he was gone, Naruto asked, "And Sai? Sakura? How're they doing?"

"Sai was shot twice by that scum Kabuto. Once in the shoulder and once in the chest. Neji managed to clean and treat the wounds, but he's been bed-ridden since, and hasn't woken," Kakashi sighed. Then he smiled lightly. "However, the good doctor here says that he should be doing much better in a few days time, and Sakura's barely left his side. I've never seen someone so worried for the boy."

* * *

Later that evening, as dinner was being served, Naruto and Sasuke were pounded with questions about their stay with the Sound.

After Naruto finished recounting the story, embellishing parts to in order to come out in a more hero-esque light than he otherwise would have, he got an all-around approval and a few hearty pats on his shoulder.

Kankuro whistled. "Impressive. Seventy flogs, you say?"

Neji looked at him sceptically. "Yes, are you quite certain it was seventy? That amount would surely have killed you."

Naruto frowned as Sasuke sniggered. "Well, maybe it was more like… fifty?" Sasuke laughed louder. "Alright, it was thirty. But still!"

Now it was everyone's turn to laugh. "Naruto, we knew you were shitting us," Kakashi said. "But thirty flogs, and you stayed conscious 'til the end. I'm proud."

Naruto shook his head solemnly. "It's a cruel, unjust punishment that I wouldn't wish upon my enemies." He gave it a second thought. "Well, maybe some," he added.

When the last of the chuckles had died down, Naruto, looking glum, turned to Kakashi and asked, "You said that all but Orochimaru and Kabuto were killed, so I assume that includes Kimimaro."

Kakashi frowned. "Kabuto took him out with a rifle," he said. "Just before he climbed into the lifeboat. Guess they didn't want a traitor going with them."

Sasuke scoffed. "It was callous. Even by their standards." Several others murmured their agreements about the cruelty of the situation.

"You think Orochimaru knew? That Kimimaro helped them out?" Chouji asked.

"I could see it in his eyes," Naruto replied, thinking back to when Orochimaru caught him untying Sasuke. "It's a shame it had to end like that," he added. "Especially after he helped us like he did. If he hadn't come down to let us know what was happening, who knows how the battle would have resulted? Or even if he hadn't come to get me the day before, when Sasuke was tied to the mast. If I hadn't gotten there, and Orochimaru had just left him to starve… I don't know how I would have lived with myself."

"I hate to think that he's still out there somewhere, biding his time," Kankuro said, snarling. "I've got a feeling that wasn't the last we were going to see of him. Oh no. He'll get himself a new crew and he'll be back for revenge for sure."

With that thought left to dwell in the crews' minds, they all went back to eating in silence. Then, unexpectedly, Sakura came barging in the room announcing, "He's awake! And he's hungry!" She hurried over to the platter of bread and began loading up a smaller plate, adding a few vegetables and grabbing a glass of water right out of Naruto's hands. She was on her way out when she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around slowly.

"Naruto!" she finally said, her arms flailing in surprise, allowing water to slosh out of her cup and onto the wooden floor. "You're awake!"

The blond smiled and looked down at himself. "I believe I am," he replied right before he was immersed in yet another hug.

"I'm glad," she said, then hurried from the room.

"Looks like everything's going to be alright," Chouji said brightly. "In a few days' time, Lee and Kiba and Sai will be up and walking again. Everything will be back to normal." Then his face fell and he looked over at Temari, who hadn't said a word all day, and was only attending dinner because Kankuro forced her to eat. "Except…"

She looked up from her plate when she felt all the eyes on her. "It's fine, everyone. Gaara would have wanted people to move on, and not be all moody whenever his name was brought up." She rolled her eyes and smiled lightly. "I was thinking about it this morning. What do you say we make a stop at The Senbon in a couple days? Let Tsunade know what's been happening. Hold a memorial for Gaara. Have some fun. We've had a rough week."

Her answer came in cheers.

* * *

That night, under a clear sky dimly lit by the sliver of the crescent moon, Naruto found Sasuke on the deck, looking out over the ocean.

"Hey," he said, startling him. Joining him at the railing, he placed one hand over Sasuke's and said, "I hope that this little misadventure hasn't completely turned you off of sailing."

Sasuke looked over at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Because, you know, if it did, we could always bring you home…"

"What? No! Naruto, don't be an idiot. Somehow… even after all of this, I find that I'm finally content here," he said, watching where the waves lapped at the ship below, smiling softly. "I think I'll stay, thanks."

Naruto's smile spanned his entire face. "Good," he said. "I don't think I'm quite ready to lose you yet."

They lapsed into a relaxed silence.

Then Naruto playfully nudged Sasuke's shoulder with his own. "So, Sasuke," he began, smirking now. "I heard you worried over me while I was unconscious."

"Of course I did. You were unconscious," Sasuke replied, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"And… did you cry?" Naruto asked, smirk growing.

His answer was a scoff, but he saw how Sasuke's cheeks reddened at the question.

"Aw, you did!" Naruto said, his smirk being replaced by a small smile showing utmost affection. He pulled Sasuke into another hug. "That's sweet of you."

**TBC**


	21. Whisper

Thank you to my reviewers! :D

This chapter is kind of short, but what needed to be written was written. Hope you enjoy! :)

**Chapter Twenty-One - Whisper**

Gaara's memorial took place at noon on the hilly landscape behind the Senbon. Gaara had been a popular man on the island, and the family he left behind knew that it was the perfect place for him to be remembered.

The small headstone was set at the top of the highest hill, behind which the sun disappeared each night to rest. It was surrounded by a ring of red sand and adorned with flowers from all the villagers.

The headstone was engraved with the words:

_Here lies Sabaku no Gaara_

_Beloved Captain of The Shuriken_

_May he sail the High Seas forever_

Shortly after the ceremony, most of the villagers and sailors who had gathered to show their respect slowly dispersed. Remaining was Gaara's crew and Tsunade, who was working on getting them all back to The Senbon for the warm meal they had denied earlier in the day.

Laughter was shared that night. With Gaara finally and properly laid to rest, the crew was able to joke and laugh and reminisce about the happier times.

Also, since the crew of the Shuriken wasn't the only crew that had had unfortunate run-ins with the Sound, they were feeling elated and proud for what they had accomplished for not only themselves and Gaara, but for the rest of those sailing the seas as well. With the Sound, which was probably the most hostile and dangerous crew on the seas, beaten, all those other sailors that had had encounters with the terrifying crew and been harassed countlessly by it's sadistic Captain Orochimaru could now sail freely and in peace.

With this in mind, even Temari joined in the fun, allowing Shizune to fill her mug several times over with Tsunade's best mead, losing herself in the voices of her closest friends and the fragrances of the Senbon's many candles. It was the first step in moving on.

Kakashi, it seemed, was taking a different approach to moving on. Naruto spotted him not long after dinner, disappearing up the wooden staircase at the back of the pub, the one that led to the overnight rooms, with three barmaids in tow.

Naruto sighed, still plagued with confusing thoughts despite the occasion, and turned to his drink, determined to lose himself. Tuning out the surrounding conversation, he lifted his mug and downed the liquor contained, followed quickly by several others. Liquid courage.

"Hey, Sasuke," he said after some time had passed, draining the liquid out of his nth drink. "I think I'm going to head up to bed. Want to join?"

Sasuke, who had been sitting next to him silently, frowning and apparently in his own world, shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he replied, getting up to follow and leaving his own drink untouched.

* * *

Naruto closed the door firmly behind them and Sasuke could hear the click as he locked it as well.

With only the moonlight to guide him in the dark, unfamiliar room, Sasuke made his way slowly to the side of the bed, where he struck a match and lit the oil lamp on the bedside table. He turned to see Naruto still standing in the doorway, brows furrowed, apparently lost in thought.

"Hey, why don't you take a bath or something?" Sasuke suggested, voice laced with concern, watching as Naruto's eyes snapped up at the sudden noise. "Tsunade said she made sure that there was warm water ready for us."

"Yeah, I could use one," Naruto said, sniffing himself and sneering in mock disgust. He grabbed some freshly laundered clothing from the pile the barmaids had left on the dresser and made his way through a small doorway into a smaller, more private room for bathing.

Sasuke lay down on the bed and listened to the rustling of clothing and the sound of water sloshing as it hit the bottom of the ceramic tub. He stared at the ceiling as several minutes of sloshing ticked by as Naruto washed himself, then another little while as the water was drained from the tub.

Then silence.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto called.

"Yeah?"

"Could you come here a moment?"

Sasuke repressed a sigh and walked into the other room, where Naruto was frowning at his reflection in the full-length mirror, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. "Yes?" Sasuke prompted.

Naruto's eyes flicked to Sasuke's, making contact through the mirror's reflection. "Can you help me with my bandages?" He motioned to his back, which, even in the dim lantern light, Sasuke could see looked many times better than it had only the day before.

"Sure," he said, smiling. He walked over to the shelves, which had already been stocked with everything they needed, and grabbed the medical cream and bandages, then gestured for Naruto to sit.

The room was silent as Sasuke carefully applied the cream to Naruto's scabbing wounds and as he wrapped the bandages several times around Naruto's tanned torso. As he finished and cut the end of the wrappings, he asked, "Feeling better?"

Naruto smiled softly. "Much, thanks." He stood then, turning to face Sasuke. He was about to give him a hug when his arms stopped dead in the air and his nose wrinkled. "Uh, I think it's your turn," he said, smirking.

Sasuke nodded sarcastically in reply and he followed Naruto back into the other room to grab his own fresh clothing before returning to the tub.

* * *

When Sasuke finished his relaxing, albeit slightly cold bath, he dried off, dressed and walked back into the bedroom to find Naruto already snoozing peacefully on the bed.

Or so he thought. As he sat down on the bed beside Naruto, the blond opened an eye to study him. "Sasuke, why do you always insist on wearing a shirt to bed?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. Just a habit, I guess," he replied.

Naruto raised a brow and sat up. "Pants too? Sasuke, it's too hot for all that clothing," he chided, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "Come here," he added, pulling Sasuke closer and fingering the hem at the bottom of his shirt before pulling it up and over Sasuke's head, disposing it to the side of the bed. "There," he said, glad to be rid of the infernal clothing once and for all.

"Um, okay," Sasuke said, brow raised and smirking. "This will do."

"Yes, yes it will," Naruto breathed, taking in the milky-white smoothness of the chest in front of him. _Beautiful_, he thought. _Flawless._

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, head titled in blatant confusion. "Are you okay? You've been blanking out quite a bit tonight, and I-"

Sasuke couldn't finish what he had been about to say because Naruto had suddenly leaned forward across the few inches between them and pressed his lips against the side of Sasuke's mouth.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked again, tilting his head away to look Naruto properly in the eye.

"Mm," was the blond's response before he pounced again, pressing his lips to Sasuke's nose, forehead, cheek, ear, neck, wherever he could around Sasuke's fussing. Eventually he moved away from the face, making his way down Sasuke's chest, kissing and nipping at the exposed skin, enjoying the sounds being produces from the other's mouth. He let his hands run over Sasuke's shoulders and down his back, feeling the muscles rippling underneath.

When his hands reached the hem of Sasuke's pants and began to tug, he felt them pulled up and away. He looked up as Sasuke gently pushed him away, holding him at arm's length.

"What are you doing?" the brunet asked, face flushed, eyes confused, breathing laboured.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, almost as if he thought it might be a trick question. "What do you think I'm doing?" he asked, both annoyed and a little worried that he may have gone too far.

Sasuke didn't reply, only looked down at the bed spread beneath them. Naruto watched him think for what felt like long, agonizing hours before Sasuke looked back up and nodded. "Okay," he said, in a soft voice.

Naruto nodded back. "Okay?"

"Okay."

And that was all he needed. He quickly closed the space between them once more, pressing his lips fully against Sasuke's, feeling them mould together easily. He flicked his tongue out, eliciting a gasp from the Uchiha.

His hand found Sasuke's head, where it tangled itself in the thick, ebony locks, forcing a moan to slip from Sasuke's mouth as he tilted his face up to get better access to his throat.

After a few minutes, during which Sasuke couldn't do much more than moan and rub his hands along the muscles of Naruto's arms, the blond pushed him backwards so that he was laying flat on the bed. Naruto let his hands travel down the torso beneath him, pausing to rub at a nipple, pleased when Sasuke shivered under his touch. The hands continued their way down until the reached the edge of the pants, where his fingers slipped just under the waistband to tease the skin underneath.

"Okay?" he asked, meeting Sasuke's eyes with his own. The brunet could only nod.

Naruto smirked and his fingers immediately stopped teasing in favour of grabbing the hem and pulling the pants off altogether. He smiled in satisfaction at the sight that lay before him.

Sasuke's blush spread from his cheeks down over his neck and chest under Naruto's scrutinizing gaze. He couldn't be embarrassed for long, however, as seconds later Naruto ducked his head down between his legs. He gasped as he felt Naruto's tongue run along the underside of him, then let out a whimper when he felt a wet heat envelope him. In what embarrassingly felt like only a few seconds, he was coming with moan.

"Naruto," he whimpered as his awareness returned. His body was shaking.

"Mm, Sasuke?" Naruto replied, his face now hovering directly above Sasuke's own. Sasuke didn't answer. He allowed his breathing to even out before silently reaching towards the hem of Naruto's pants.

Naruto pushed his hands away, lying down and resting his head comfortably upon Sasuke's shoulder. "No," he said simply.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, brows furrowed. He felt Naruto nod and added in a whisper, "You're amazing."

"Well, obviously," Naruto whispered back. Sasuke felt the smirk against his skin and promptly smacked the blond over the head.

* * *

When Sasuke woke early the next morning, Naruto was still sound asleep in the bed next to him, a sated grin still plastered across his face. Sasuke smiled, untangled himself from the sheets and Naruto's limbs, pulled on some clothes and made his way downstairs.

He was just sitting down for some breakfast when Kakashi came sauntering down the stairs and, after spotting him in the otherwise empty room, made his way over to join him at the small table.

"Mornin', Sasuke. How was your night? Sleep well?" he asked, grabbing a bagel off of the plate one of the barmaids had made up for Sasuke.

"Mm, it was good. I slept very well, thanks," Sasuke replied, trying to sound nonchalant, though he was almost sure that Kakashi could see right through him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and asked, "How was yours?"

Kakashi sighed and took several bites of his stolen breakfast before answering. "Gotta tell ya, I'm not as young as I used to be. That's for sure. Those women last night… they were quite a handful. Tired me right out. Couldn't last another round if I wanted to."

Sasuke grimaced, pushing his plate away. "I shouldn't have asked."

**TBC**


	22. Promise

Last chapter! Wow, it's taken me quite a while to get this out. But, hey, it's completed. It's a proud day. :D

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have! :)

Thanks.~

"_It's when you are safe at home that you're wishing for adventure;  
When you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home."_

- Thornton Wilder -

**Chapter Twenty-Two - Promise**

Tsunade was there to see them off a couple days later. Their ship, standing magnificently against a bright blue afternoon sky, was moored on the south beach, closest to the Senbon.

She was hugging Temari as she asked, "When will you be dropping in for another visit?"

"I'd like to actually do some exploring now that this whole situation has been put behind us, but knowing these guys," she added with a smirk, looking over to where the crew was fooling around on the beach instead of loading up the ship, "We'll probably never get more than a week away from this place."

Tsunade laughed. "Be safe, boys!" she called to the crew as they finally got their act together and launched the Shuriken once again into open ocean.

* * *

As they all sat down for supper that night, Kankuro asked for quiet since the ship's lieutenant had a very important announcement to make.

Temari smiled at she stepped up to the head of the table. "I thought you'd all like to know that, after some brief debate, we have made a decision regarding the new captain of The Shuriken." The babble that had inevitably still been happening as she began now died, giving way to silence. "Given that I'm lieutenant, the position should have gone to me, but we feel that there's someone more qualified for the job. And so: Naruto, I'd like to congratulate you on your Captaincy."

Naruto, who hadn't really been listening and had rather been shovelling noodles into his mouth, looked up in surprise. "Eh?"

"We're promoting you to Captain, Naruto," Kankuro said with a wink from the other side of the table.

Naruto slurped down the noodles hanging out of his mouth and narrowed his eyes sceptically at Kankuro. "Wait, let me get this straight: I lose every bit of our savings in a badly played poker game, frequently break things, kidnap an orphan, put all your lives in danger, pass out in battle with the bad guy, thus allowing him to escape, and you're making _me_ the captain?" A couple of the crew members didn't bother to hide their agreement about the poor choice.

"I didn't do much better myself," Temari replied dolefully. "Besides, it's what Gaara would have wanted."

"It's what Gaara _did_ want. He told me before he died. Said it couldn't be anyone but you," Kankuro added. Several of the crews' eyes flicked to him. He had never shared that bit of information.

"Tch, Gaara was a fool then," Sasuke said, breaking both the silence and the tense atmosphere that had cropped up after the mention of their late Captain's final request.

Naruto smirked in his direction, and then looked back at where Temari was still standing. "You're serious?"

"We're serious," she said, smiling.

"Hmm, and what does Sai think of all of this? After all, Sai has been trying to belittle me in some way or another ever since we split. I wouldn't think that he'd be too keen on this idea."

Kankuro replied, "He actually doesn't know yet."

"But seeing as how…" Kakashi added, gesturing upwards, indicating where Sai was up on deck alone with Sakura, teaching her how to properly steer the ship. "I'd say things may settle down a bit around here. He may not actually mind… much."

* * *

The majority of the evening was spent clearing out what was left in Gaara's captain quarters and moving Naruto's stuff in from his cabin below deck. With Sasuke's help, the move was made efficiently, and Naruto's clothing ended up put away instead of in strewn over the burgundy rug that spread across the floor.

As Naruto put away his last cotton shirt and closed the wardrobe, he glanced around the room. Frowning, he turned to Sasuke and asked, "Hey, where's all of your stuff?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "In my room."

Naruto frowned harder. "Sasuke, you can't possibly think I'm going to let you stay down there. Especially not when I hear that Sai wants his cabin back. You can't stay with that guy; he'd make your life miserable. Speaking of which… now that I think about it, you're still cabin boy, aren't you?"

The brunet nodded. "Yeah."

"Yeah… we don't want Sai taking advantage of that anymore," Naruto said, tapping his chin with a finger. "Therefore, my first act as Captain is to promote you to a proper deckhand. And my first order for you, my deckhand, is to go get your stuff and bring it all up here," he added, smiling.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but complied all the same; he couldn't deny his Captain.

* * *

That night, as they lay curled up in the very same bed in which they had first met, Sasuke looked around the captain's quarters that was now his cabin. Though most of the shelves that lined the room were still packed with sailing instruments and maps and other sailing equipment, there was one that had been completely cleared off.

Naruto had left it for him. For his book collection. So far the bookshelf was empty save for one book; the novel Naruto gave him all those weeks ago. But Sasuke beamed at the idea of filling up every inch with books he'd be collecting over the years from all their travels yet to come.

With this thought in mind he turned to dozing Naruto and, after pressing a light kiss to his temple, said, "You know, I've been thinking, and I've decided that maybe this isn't so bad."

"Hm?"

"This sailing business. I could get used to it. I could like it, even. It seems like a pretty good way to spend my life, here with the Shuriken, out on the open sea. With you."

Naruto smiled, eyes peaking out sleepily from under the lids. "How can you be so sure that we're going to be together for the rest of our lives?" he asked, nuzzling his face into Sasuke's neck.

"I'm not," Sasuke replied. "There's an endless amount of things that could happen that can effectively tear us apart." Naruto frowned. "But why should we worry about those things? Live for now, not the future. I'm here and you're here, and we're together and happy. Now. And that's all that matters to me."

"When did you become so smart?" Naruto smirked, pushing himself up on an elbow to look down at the other man. "And cheesy? I mean, what was _that_?"

Sasuke frowned and punched him in the arm in retaliation. "Shut up, idiot."

Naruto chuckled, settling back down into the warm of the bed. Despite being tired, he laid awake for a bit, listening to the soft groans of the ship and the light snores of Sasuke beside him, before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

* * *

By the next day, things on the Shuriken had pretty much gone back to normal.

Sasuke was woken by the sounds of a barking dog and a chiding Temari.

Pealing himself away from a still-sleeping Naruto, he made his way out onto the deck, where he was in time to witness the ship's lieutenant pulling apart a sword fight that had broken out between Shino and Kiba.

Sasuke climbed the stairs to the quarter deck and greeted Kankuro, who was sailing the ship through calm waters under a beautiful blue sky, and observed as Temari thumped both men over the head, confiscated their cutlasses and stormed below deck.

He noticed Kakashi sitting on a barrel in the corner nearby, sniggering quietly, his nose buried in a new novel.

And Shikamaru, to his utter lack of surprise, was snoozing in the crow's nest and unaware of everything going on around him. He rolled his eyes, smirking, before following Temari through the door that led below deck.

On his way to the kitchen, he ran into Neji, who was standing in the doorframe of his cabin, towering over an apologetic-looking Lee, berating the man for overexerting himself before his legs had properly healed. Lee was slumped on the floor, rubbing at his forehead and only half-listening to Neji's lecture, apparently cursing his stupidity at getting himself caught out of bed.

Leaving them to that, Sasuke disappeared into the galley to fetch some late breakfast. He greeted the happily whistling Chouji, grabbed an apple off the table, and joined the other man in the kitchen to help prepare the crew's lunch.

"Where's Sakura?" he asked casually as he peeled a bucket of potatoes that Chouji had sat in front of him.

"Still playing the piano while Sai paints, I assume. First thing this morning they dropped by here to grab some breakfast to go and disappeared in there for some private time." He turned to Sasuke with a smile. "They seem really happy."

Sasuke spent the afternoon helping out with the ship like a proper deckhand: raising the sails, swabbing the deck, relieving Shikamaru of his post when Temari admonished that he would get sunburned if he slept up there too much longer. Kankuro even allowed him to sail the ship for a while.

And, as usual, dinner that night was met with alcohol, laughter and crude comments.

At sunset, Naruto and Sasuke were found sitting at the front of the ship, hands joined together between them, feet dangling through the rails and over the edge, watching the sun slowly disappear below the horizon.

Sasuke smiled at the sight before him; the waning sun shining onto Naruto's carefree face, highlighting his tan skin and perfect smile, the summer breeze blowing through his golden hair.

Naruto caught him starting and smiled back. "I doubt there's anything in the world that would make this moment better," he said, squeezing Sasuke's hand softly in his own.

Sasuke raised a brow, smirking. "Well, some tea wouldn't hurt."

**END**


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